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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


Bi.  c.   .  :ETREa. 

i  'H    HILL, 

HIGHGAl 


^bc  (Breat 
Cburcbnien 

Series 

EDITED     BY 

VERNON   STALEY 


LIFE   OF 
WILLIAM  LAUD 


"Great  CliiircliiDeii  Series" 

Life  of  Richard  Hooker 

[Ready. 

Life  of  William  Laud 

[Ready. 

Life  of  Lancelot  Andrewes 

[In  preparation. 

Life  of  John  Cosin 

[In  preparation. 


Archiushop  Lauo. 
After  I  'aiidykc. 


{Frontispiece. 


Life  of     -^      ^ 
William  Laud 


BV 

The  Rev.  W.  L.   MACKINTOSH,  M.A., 

PEMBROKE  COLLEGE,  OXFORD,  SOMETIME  CANON-RESIDENTIARY  OF 
ST.  ANDREW'S  CATHEDRAL,  INVERNESS. 


WITH   ILLUSTRATIONS 


LONDON:    MASTERS   &   CO.,   LTD. 
78,     NEW     BOND     STREET,    W. 


1907 


PREFACE 

The  following  biography  of  Archbishop  Laud 
has  been  written  for  The  Great  Churchmen 
Series  by  request  of  the  General  Editor. 

Of  the  difficulties  of  writing  a  biography  of 
one,  who  like  William  Laud,  was  the  leader 
of  a  great  religious  movement,  I  am  well 
aware ;  and  I  am  equally  conscious  of  the 
imperfections  of  my  work.  There  is  however 
one  qualification  for  writing  a  life  of  Laud 
that  I  lay  claim  to  possess — though  curiously, 
nowadays,  this  qualification  is  sometimes 
denied, — and  this  is  the  devotion  that  I  have 
ever  had  towards  the  subject  of  this  biography. 
On  my  first  visit  to  my  Alma  Mater,  now 
many  years  ago,  I  well  recollect  walking 
straight  from  the  railway-station  to  St.  John's 
College,  to  behold  before  all  else  in  Oxford, 
the  spot  most  intimately  connected  with  his 
illustrious  name.  After  seeing  the  Chapel, 
the  Hall,  and  other  features  of  the  College, 
I  remember  being  especially  pleased  with  my 


64S93'? 


vi  PREFACE 

cicerone,  the  college  Porter,  who  on  my 
asking  whether  the  name  of  Laud  .was  still 
remembered,  answered,  "  Why,  Sir,  we  swear 
by  him  ! " 

That  a  life  of  Laud  is  not  only  difficult  to 
write,  but  necessarily  involves  the  treatment 
of  matters  highly  controversial,  no  one  will 
deny.  I  wi'ite  frankly  from  the  standpoint 
of  an  Anglo-Catholic  :  at  the  same  time,  how- 
ever, I  trust  I  have  not  been  unfair  to  those 
who  hold  opposite  opinions.  All  must  admit 
that  the  political  Puritan  was  one  man  and 
the  religious-minded  Puritan  was  another. 
To  a  passage  of  singular  beauty  in  JNIr. 
Hutton's  History  of  the  English  Church  from 
the  Accession  of  Charles  I.  to  the  Death  of 
Anne,  in  which  he  shows  that  between  the 
devout  Anglo-Catholic  and  the  devout  Puritan 
there  was  much  in  common,^  I  subscribe  with 
all  my  heart.  It  is  also  my  opinion  that 
Abbot,  the  great  Puritan  Archbishop,  who 
looms  so  large  in  the  early  part  of  Laud's 
life,  has  scarcely  received  justice  at  the  hands 
of  Church  historians. 

Owing  to  the  exigencies  of  space,  I  ha\'e 
been  obliged  in  a  great  measure  to  pass  over 
the  political  aspect  of  Laud's  life,  i.  e.  his 
attitude  to   the  State.      The  same  may  also 

1  I  have  quoted  part  of  tlie  passage  on  p.  1 60. 


PREFACE  vii 

be  said  of  the  refining  influence  and  the 
culture  of  the  Laudian  movement,  which  the 
AngHcan  Church  has  never  lost.  As  to  this 
aspect  of  the  movement,  I  cannot  help  quoting 
here  from  the  late  JNlr.  Shorthouse's  intro- 
ductory essay  to  George  Herbert's  Poems 
[^The  Temple^  Lond.  1883]  which  is,  in  its 
way,  quite  a  literary  gem.  Speaking  of  that 
"  exquisite  refinement  which  is  the  peculiar 
gift  and  office  of  the  Church,"  he  continues : 

George  Herbert  himself  is  a  type  of  this  note  of  the 
Church  :  the  ascetic  priest  who  was  also  a  fine  gentle- 
man, with  his  fine  cloth,  his  cambric  fall,  and  his 
delicate  hands.  Just  as  George  Herbert,  when  on  his 
way  to  the  music  meeting  in  the  close  of  Sarujn, 
hesitated  not  to  soil  his  hands  and  clothes,  "  usually 
so  neat  and  clean,"  in  helping  the  man  with  the  cart 
which  had  broken  down,  so  this  exquisite  Church 
delicate  with  the  scent  of  violet  and  Lent-lily,  and 
with  the  country  places  which  God  made  and  not  man 
.  .  .  still  holds  forth  in  town  precincts,  and  back 
alleys  and  courts,  this  gospel  of  refinement  and  sacred 
culture,  apparently  so  alien  to  the  people  among  whom 
its  lot  is  cast. 

I  have  divided  the  life  of  Laud  into  salient 
features,  instead  of  treating  it  chronologically. 
This  is  doubtless  a  gain  in  the  interests  of 
clearness,  but  it  has  perhaps  the  disadvantage 
of  causing  some  repetition,  and  it  sometimes 
makes  the  chapters  unequal  in  length.    Living, 


viii  PREFACE 

as  I  do,  in  the  "Far  North,"  I  regret  that 
I  have  not  had  access  to  the  great  piibhc 
hbraries.  In  conclusion,  I  have  to  thank 
my  friend  JNIr.  Staley,  Provost  of  Inverness 
Cathedral,  for  much  trouble  that  he  has  taken 
in  helping  me  to  look  over  the  proofs. 

W.  L.  Mackintosh. 

Inverness, 

Eastertide  1907. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   I 

PAGE 

The  English  Reformation       .....  1 

Laud's  Life  and  Work  connected  with  the  Refomia- 
ation  —  The  English  Reformation  —  Revokition 
versus  Reformation — Return  to  old  paths  under 
Hooker — Laud  can-ies  on  this  work. 


CHAPTER   n 

Laud  at  Oxford      .......       25 

Laud's  Birth  and  Parentage — Elizabethan  Oxford 
— Laud  at  St.  John's — The  False  Step — Laud  as 
Parish  Priest — Laud  at  Gloucester. 


CHAPTER   HI 

Laud  as  Bishop        .......       46 

Laud,  Bishop  of  St.  David's — Abbot  and  Williams 
— Visit  of  Prince  Charles  to  Spain — Accession  of 
Charles  L — Coronation  of  Charles  L — Laud,  Bishop 
of  London — The  Lecturers — Restoration  and  Con- 
secration of  Churches. 

ix 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IV 

PAOK 

Laud  as  Primate     .......       74- 

Laud,  Archbishop  of  Canterbuiy — Moral  Refonxi — 
Sunday  Obsei-v'ance — Metropohtical  Visitation — 
Foreign  Protestants  in  England — Ecclesiastical 
Refoi-m — The  Star  Chamber — The  Court  of  High 
Commission. 

CHAPTER   V 

Laud  as  Reformer  .         .         .         .         .         .101 

Laud's  Reformation,  a  reaction  against  that  of 
Cranmer — Laud's  opposition  to  Calvinism — Episco- 
pacy, de  jure  divino — Assertion  of  Sacramental 
Doctrine — Reaction  towards  Catholic  Belief  and 
Practice — Ceremonial  Refomiation — Limitations 
in  Laud's  Reformation. 

CHAPTER   VI 

Laud  :  Private  and  Devotional  Life  .  .  .129 
Portraits  of  Laud — "Always  ailing,  never  failing" 
— Simplicity  of  his  Home-Life — Kindness  to 
Dependents — Attitude  towards  Recreations — Pro- 
motes Spirituality  amongst  the  Clergy — Laud  and 
FeiTar  the  Younger. 

CHAPTER   VII 

Laud  and  Christian  Reunion  .         .         .         .142^ 

Laud's  attitude  towards  Reunion — The  Cardinal's 
Hat — Missions  of  Leandcr  and  Panzani — Negoti- 
ations with  Windebank — Sanct;i  Clara  on  the 
Articles — Failure  of  the  Reunion-Project. 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER   VIII 


PAGE 


Laud  and  Learning         .         .         .         .         .         .162 

Popular  Misrepresentations  of  Laud — His  Intellect 
and  Tolerance — Mr.  Gladstone's  Vindication  of 
Laud — Chancellor  of  Oxford — Incidents  in  Uni- 
versity Reform — Laud  entertains  Charles  I.  at 
Oxford — Laud's  Munificence  to  Oxford. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Laud  and  the  Scottish  Church     .         .         .         .178 
Fall  of  the  Ancient  Scottish  Church — Laud  accom- 
panies   King  James   to   Scotland — King   Charles 
visits  Scotland — The  Scottish  Prayer  Book. 


CHAPTER   X 

Laud  and  the  Irish  Church  .         .         .         .         .192 
Ireland    in    the    Sixteenth    Century — Laud    and 
Strafford — The  Irish  Articles  and  Canons. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Laud  :  His  Troubles 204 

Gathering  of  the  Storm — Animosity  against  Laud 
— Convocation  and  the  Canons  of  l6iO — Laud 
accused  of  High  Treason — The  Trial — The  Im- 
prisonment— Piynne — Bill  of  Attainder — Laud 
sentenced  to  Death. 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XII 

PAGE 

Laud  :  His  Martyrdom  ......     234 

Laud's  Execution — His  Speech  and  Prayers — The 
End — Laud's  Will — Persecution,  and  Desecration 
of  Churches — Reaction — The  Prayer  Book  of  1 66 1 
— "Laud  saved  the  English  Church." 

Index 251 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


I.  William  Laud,  from  a  picture  by  Vandyke  Frontispiece 

II.  St.    John    the    Baptist's    College^   Oxford,   from   an 

early  French  print     ....         To  face  p.       33 

III.  Interior  of  the  Palace  Cliapel   of  Lambeth   Palace, 

showing  Screen  and  Stalls.  The  painted  vaulting, 
executed  in  lath  and  plaster,  is  modern  ;  previously 
there  was  a  flat  panelled  ceiling.  Archbishop  Laud, 
during  his  primacy,  refitted  and  adorned  the  chapel, 
and  put  up  the  elaborate  screen  which  divides  the 
building  into  chapel  and  ante-chapel ;  the  stalls  also 
are  attributed  to  him.  The  primate's  stall  is  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  entrance  at  the  door  of  the  screen 

To  face  p.       81 

IV.  Laud  blessing  StrafFoi'd  on  his  way  to  execution,  from 

a  picture  by  Paul  de  la  Roche     .        .         To  face  p.     193 

V.  Laud's  Trial  in  the  House  of  Lords,  engraved  by 
Hollar,  reproduced  from  Frontispiece  to  '  Hidden 
Works  of  Darkness,'  by  William  Prynne,  1645 

To  face  p.     209 


xiu 


LIFE  OF 

WILLIAM    LAUD 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION 

laud's  life  and  work  connected  with  the 

reformation the  english  reformation 

revolution   vevsus    reformation re- 
turn to  old  paths  under  hooker laud 

carries  on  this  work 

In  order  to  estimate  rightly  the  work  and  in- 
fluence of  any  leader  of  men,  it  is  well  to  sur- 
vey the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and  to  consider 
the  society,  secular  and  religious,  in  which  he 
moved ;  and,  moreover,  it  is  useful,  if  not 
necessary,  to  trace  the  course  of  events  that 
immediately  led  up  to  the  state  of  affairs  that 
prevailed  when  he  came  upon  the  scene,  in 
which  he  was  to  become  a  prominent  actor. 
This  is  so  in  a  very  marked  degree  in  the  case 


2  LIFE   OF  WILLIAjNI  LAUD 

of  William  Laud.  We  must  not  merely  view 
his  surroundings,  but  we  must  hark  back  to 
the  stirring  events  that  preceded  his  times :  in 
short,  we  must  turn  our  attention  to  that  great 
movement  which  has  been  somewhat  vaguely 
styled  the  Reformation. 

The  life  and  work  of  Laud  were  closely  con- 
nected Avith  the  English  Reformation.  Laud 
has  been  described  as  a  counter-reformer,  a 
reformer  of  the  Reformation,  and  even  as  a 
conservative  reformer ;  but  still  he  is  closely 
connected  with  the  Reformation.  It  will 
therefore  be  necessary  to  begin  by  briefly  con- 
sidering what  the  English  Reformation  really 
was. 

In  the  first  place,  all  reasonable  men,  from 
the  Papalist  to  the  Puritan,  must  admit  that 
at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  or  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sixteenth,  some  kind  of  reform- 
ation was  absolutely  necessary ;  some  of  the 
walls  of  the  Church  in  the  Realm  of  England 
needed  building  up,  and  there  were  additions 
to  the  edifice — later  additions  out  of  harmony 
with  the  original  building — which  required  to 
be  removed.  Dr.  I>iddon,  in  a  remarkable 
sermon  preached  l)efore  the  University  of 
Oxford  on  "  the  Influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit," 
in  speaking  of  the  Reformation  uses  the  terse 
expression — "a   nmch-nccdcd    reformation    of 


THE   ENGLISH   REFORMATION  3 

the  Church."  ^  Certainly,  a  reformation  of  the 
Church  in  England  in  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries  was  "  much  needed."  Impor- 
tant matters  both  of  doctrine  and  practice 
needed  reform.  The  Church  in  the  Provinces 
of  Canterbury  and  York,  it  is  true,  held  the 
Catholic  Faith,  that  sacred  deposit  of  doctrine 
handed  down  to  her  by  her  Divine  Founder, 
and  enshrined  in  the  creeds — but  she  had 
overlaid  this  faith  with  certain  developments, 
developments  not  by  way  of  definition,  like 
the  definitions  of  the  great  Councils,  but 
developments  of  doctrine  some  of  them  out  of 
harmony  with  "  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints."  There  were  also  developments  of 
practice  unknown  in  the  early  ages  of  Chris- 
tianity, which  called  for  reformation.  At  the 
present  day,  when  people  complacently  ac- 
quiesce in  the  divisions  of  Christendom,  they 
do  not  sufficiently  realize  the  disastrous  nature 
of  the  great  schism  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, when  East  and  AVest  were  separated. 
Outward  unity  being  thus  marred,  it  was  but 
natural  that  the  whole  Church  should  suffer, 
and  that  errors  both  of  doctrine  and  of  practice 
should  follow.  There  was,  first  of  all,  the 
position  of  the  Roman  See  with  regard  to  the 
Church  in  England  that  required  re-adjustment. 

1  Liddou,  University  Sermons,  2nd  series,  1880,  p.  89. 


4  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

The  moderate  Primacy  of  early  days  had  by 
degrees  developed  into  a  Supremacy,  temporal 
as  well  as  spiritual.  From  the  Pope  being 
regarded  as  the  Primate  of  Christendom,  he 
eventually  claimed  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over 
the  Church  in  all  nations.  It  was  urged  that 
jurisdiction  proceeded  from  him  alone,  and  this 
he  was  held  to  confer  on  JNIetropolitan  Bishops, 
by  the  gift  of  the  pallium.  His  patronage  in 
England  was  immense.  He  appointed  his 
favourites  to  some  of  the  wealthiest  benefices.^ 
Amongst  other  taxes,  annates  or  the  first 
fruits  of  bishoprics  had  to  be  paid  to  him. 
Even  as  far  back  as  the  reign  of  Henry  III. 
it  was  computed  that  these  Papal  nominees  in 
one  year  drew  from  the  Church  more  than 
80,000  marks,  a  larger  sum  than  the  revenue 
of  the  Crown. 

In  the  matters  of  doctrine  and  practice  re- 
form was  urgently  needed,  since  between  the 
popular  teaching  of  the  later  middle  ages,  and 
the  authorized  teaching  of  tlie  Church  of  that 
period,  to  say  nothing  of  that  of  earlier  ages, 
there  was  wide  divergence.  The  Church,  for 
instance,  had  always  taught  that  Christ  gave 
her  the  power  to  forgive  in  His  name  the  sins 
of  the  penitent ;  and  upon  tliis  belief,  and 
upon  the  belief  that  the  Church  has  authority 

'  Stubbs,  Constitutional  Hint. ,  ii.  Hn. 


THE   ENGLISH   REFORMATION  5 

to   impose   penitential    discipline,   there    was 
built  up  in  the  middle  ages  a  system  of  In- 
dulgences,   which    in    practice    often    meant 
"  licenses,"  obtained  at  a  price,  to  commit  sin. 
Pardoners   went   up   and  down  the    country, 
armed  with  Papal  dispensations,  who  invaded 
the  domain  of  the  parochial  clergy,  and  hawked 
their   Indulgences    at    a    fixed    tariff.     This 
glaring  evil,  perhaps  more  than  anything  else, 
brought    to    men's    minds    the    necessity   of 
reform.     In  the  same  way  the  guarded  teach- 
ing of  the  earlier  ages  as  to  the  state  of  the 
soul  after  death  had  been  developed,  almost 
past   recognition,  into   the   popular  mediaeval 
doctrine  concerning  Purgatory :  the  cleansing 
fire  was  held  to  be  material,  and  many  other 
like  details  were  added.     So  also  the  doctrine 
of  the  Communion  of  Saints,with  its  resultant 
practice  of  asking  the  saints  for  their  prayers, 
which  can  claim  the  authority  of  St.  Ambrose 
and  St.  Gregory  Nyssen,  had,  in  many  cases, 
degenerated  into  a  cultus   which   was  undis- 
tinguishable  from  that  given  to  Almighty  God  ; 
justifying  the  derisive  language  of  Erasmus  ^ 
on  the  subject.     So  also  a  wise  use  of  images 
and  pictures,  sanctioned  by  the  Church  as  aids 
to  devotion,  had  been  corrupted  in  the  later 

^  Erasmus,  Encomium  Morice,  qu.  Perry,  The  Student's  English 
Church  Bistori/,  Loud.  1878,  p.  5. 


6  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

middle  ages  into  a  worship  hardly  different 
from  Pagan  idolatry.  Amongst  many  church- 
people  in  mediaeval  times,  a  crude  and  mater- 
ialistic conception  of  the  presence  of  Christ  in 
the  Eucharist  prevailed,  very  different  from 
the  teaching  of  St.  Thomas  and  other  great 
schoolmen.  The  same  may  be  said  with 
regard  to  the  Eucharistic  Sacrifice,  which  had 
come  to  be  regarded  in  the  same  materialistic 
way,  its  dependence  upon,  and  its  identity  with, 
the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross  being  ignored.  The 
aspect  of  the  Eucharist  as  a  feast  was  largely 
overlooked;  for  most  people,  yearly  com- 
munion was  deemed  sufficient,  although  recent 
researches  have  shown  that  in  parishes  the 
proportion  of  communicants  was  higher  than 
it  is  nowadays.  The  laity  never  received  the 
Chahce,  a  deprivation  unknown  in  the  earlier 
ages  of  the  Church,  except  possibly  in  cases 
where  the  Sacrament  was  reserved  for  the 
sick  and  others.  Another  matter  needinsf 
reform  was  the  existing  discipline  of  the 
Western  Churclies  regarding  the  celibacy  of 
the  clergy.  From  the  earliest  times  the 
Church,  relying  upon  the  words  of  our  Lord 
and  of  St.  l*aul,  held  the  unmarried  state  to  be 
the  more  excellent  way,  especially  for  God's 
ministers  ;  but  tliis  was  a  very  different  matter 
from  imposing  a  rigid  rule  of  celibacy  upon  all 


THE   ENGLISH   REFORMATION  7 

the  clergy,  and  forbidding  not  only  marriage 
after  ordination,  but  also  reftising  to  ordain 
married  men  unless  they  consented  to  live 
apart  from  their  wives.  The  history  of  the 
medijEval  Church,  witli  the  moral  scandals 
attendant  upon  the  enforced  celibacy  of  the 
clergy,  justified  the  change  eventually  made  by 
the  Church  of  England,  which  was  probably 
the  best  disciplinary  reform  carried  out. 
Never  perhaps  has  the  public  worship  of  God 
been  rendered  with  more  outward  solemnity 
and  beauty  than  was  the  case  in  the  later 
medieval  times :  the  words  of  the  service 
enshrined  in  the  liturgical  books,  the  music, 
the  ceremonial,  the  instrumenta  of  worship,  the 
glorious  buildings  themselves,  everything  in 
short  that  devotion  and  art  could  desire,  was 
freely  lavished  upon  the  service  of  the 
Almighty.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  ser- 
vices were  unintelligible  to  most  of  the  people, 
for  they  were  rendered  in  Latin,  a  tongue 
'*  not  understanded  "  by  them,  and  the  over- 
elaboration  of  ceremonial  needed  simplification. 
Added  to  these  abuses  in  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice, there  is  no  doubt  that  by  the  fifteenth 
century  a  general  lowering  of  spirituality  had 
taken  place.  The  Church  had  become  wealthy 
and  powerful,  and  the  result  was  spiritual 
deterioration.       The    remarkable    evangelical 


8  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

movement  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  had  to  a  great  extent  spent 
itself;  so  much  so,  that  the  Franciscan  order 
itself  had  become  Avealthy,  and  the  Friars  were 
more  worldly  than  the  INIonks,  and  less  esteemed 
in  popular  opinion.  The  fine  gold  had  indeed 
become  dim. 

There  was  of  course  a  bright  side  to  the 
later  mediseval  Church ;  there  were  good  and 
devoted  men  both  amongst  clergy  and  laity. 
In  those  days  the  Church  was  far  more  the 
Church  of  the  people  than  she  is  to-day ;  for 
she  embraced  the  whole  English  nation,  and 
not  a  little  more  than  half.  Belief  in  the  super- 
natural, and  especially  in  the  sacramental  sys- 
tem, was  far  more  widespread  than  in  the  times 
that  followed.  The  wife  of  JNIartin  Luther 
doubtless  stated  the  truth,  when  she  said  that 
somehow  people  prayed  better  before  the 
Reformation  than  they  did  in  her  day.  Still  in 
spite  of  all  this,  that  reformation  was  required 
no  fair-minded  man  can  deny.  Even  those 
Churches  which  remained  in  commimion  with 
Rome  have  admitted  this ;  for  the  Council  of 
Trent,  although  it  stereotyped  and  strengthened 
the  claims  of  the  Papacy,  yet  assuredly  re- 
formed many  of  tlie  worst  errors  and  abuses  of 
the  mediaeval  period  witli  no  light  hand ;  but 
the  Council  came  too  late. 


REVOLUTION   VERSUS  REFORMATION      9 

Having  thus  shown  the  need  of  reform,  let 
us  now  proceed  to  inquire  how  in  England 
this  reformation  was  carried  out.  In  all  great 
movements,  the  evil  and  the  good  are  more 
or  less  mingled  together,  and  to  this  rule  the 
English  Reformation  was  no  exception.  In 
some  movements  the  evil  for  a  time  gets  the 
mastery  of  the  good,  and  this  was  the  case  in 
England.  To  an  impartial  mind  the  result  of 
the  Reformation  viewed,  say,  in  the  middle  of 
Elizabeth's  reign  is,  to  say  the  least,  disappoint- 
ing. Revolution  against  the  ancient  system 
had  to  a  great  extent  taken  the  place  of 
reformation,  and  the  Church  was  fast  tending 
to  Calvinism.  Happily  this  course  was  checked 
by  a  counter-movement,  and  this  movement 
was  eventually  marshalled  and  led  by  William 
Laud.  If  the  Reformation  was  completed  by 
the  Elizabethan  settlement — as  is  often  held — 
it  must  be  pronounced  to  have  been  to  a  great 
extent  a  failure :  if  it  was  continued,  as  we 
hold  it  was,  until  the  Caroline  settlement  in 
1662,  when  the  fruits  of  Laud's  life  work  and 
death  were  visible,  then  it  was  not  a  failure, 
but  a  success ;  though,  like  all  human  move- 
ments, it  had  its  obvious  limitations  and 
shortcomings. 

The  best  and  most  impartial  historians 
have    shown    how,  at  the   beginning   of  the 


10  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Reformation  in  England,  there  were  two  forces 
at  work,  the  one  conservative  and  constructive, 
the  other  revohitionary  and  even  destructive. 
Wolsey,  Colet,  and  Gardiner  have  more  right 
to  be  designated  reformers,  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  word,  than  Cranmer,  Ridley,  and 
Latimer.  Had  the  Reformation,  for  instance, 
been  developed  on  the  lines  of  AVolsey,  Colet, 
and  Gardiner,  had  the  reforms  been  more  or  less 
on  the  basis  of  A  necessary  Erudition  for  any 
Christian  man,  commonly  called  IVie  King's 
Book  of  1543,  a  book  formally  sanctioned  by 
Convocation,  the  result  would  have  been  very 
different  from  what  it  was.  It  is  not  difficult 
for  us  to  picture  to  ourseh'es  a  conservative 
reformation — a  reformation  in  the  true  sense  of 
the  term.  The  monasteries  would  have  been 
reformed,  some  of  them  might  have  been  equit- 
ably suppressed  (as  had  been  already  done  in 
the  middle  ages),  and  their  revenues  diverted 
into  other  religious  channels,  such  as  the  en- 
dowment of  new  bishoprics  or  of  colleges  ;  tlie 
old  services  might  have  been  translated,  and 
better  adapted  to  the  needs  of  tlie  day ;  errors 
in  doctrine  and  abuses  in  discipline  miglit  have 
been  taken  away ;  the  attitude  of  tlic  Enghsli 
Church  to  tlie  Roman  See  might  liave  been 
readjusted — a  difficult,  tliougli  pcrliaps  not  an 
impossible   matter.      A   conservative   reform- 


REVOLUTION  FERSUS  REFORMATION      11 

atioii  of  tliis  kind  might  have  taken  phice  ;  but 
we  know  full  well  that  it  did  not.  The  party 
that  eventually  got  the  upper  hand  in  Edward's 
reign  was  destructive  rather  than  constructive  ; 
it  advocated  revolution  rather  than  reform- 
ation. This  party  was  moved  by  two  sections  ; 
or  rather,  we  should  say,  two  forces  drove  it 
forward.  The  one  force  was  the  influence  of 
a  corrupt  court  and  its  parasites — creatures  of 
Henry  VIII.,  many  of  whom  had  sprung  from 
the  lowest  of  the  people — upstarts  like  Crom- 
well and  others,  who,  when  the  monasteries  were 
dissolved,  like  vultures  battened  on  the  spoil. 
The  other  force  was  religious,  deriidng  its 
inspiration  from  abroad,  from  Wittenburg, 
Geneva,  or  Zurich.  Nothing  would  satisfy 
its  agents  but  a  root  and  branch  revolution. 
They  pursued  a  clear  and  definite  end, — the 
substitution  of  a  new  religious  system  for  the 
old  Catholic  system.  At  first  this  party  was 
Lutheran,  then  it  became  definitely  Calvinistic 
and  Zwinglian.  With  consummate  ability  it 
carried  forward  its  plans,  secretly  but  surely, 
aided,  as  it  was,  by  the  march  of  political 
events  and  assisted  by  its  allies,  the  Court- 
party.  Cranmer,  Ridley,  Latimer  and  others 
came  under  the  spell  of  this  foreign  influence  ; 
they  looked  with  servile  admiration  upon  con- 
tinental  Protestantism.     They   brought   over 


12  LIFE   OF   WILIJAINI   LAUD 

foreigners,  such  as  Biicer,  Peter  INIartyr,  and 
John  Laski,  who  were  placed  in  positions  of 
trust  and  importance  in  the  Universities  and 
elsewhere.  In  this  way  Lutheran  and  Calvinist 
heresies  gradually  influenced  the  nation.  The 
adherents  of  this  party  may  be  said  to  have 
been  anti-national  in  religion,  and  anti-demo- 
cratic in  politics.  They  imported  into  England 
a  religion  "  made  in  Germany,"  or  "  made  in 
Switzerland."  English  Christianity,  as  it  then 
existed,  was  in  their  eyes  a  religion  beyond 
reformation.  By  the  destruction  of  the  mon- 
asteries vast  numbers  of  the  peasantry  passed 
from  under  the  sway  of  the  religious  houses  to 
that  of  the  "new  men,"  who  crushed  them 
under  foot.  INIuch  of  the  common-land  was 
enclosed,  and  the  kindly,  though  perhaps  in- 
discriminate charity  of  the  monks  and  friars 
was  replaced  by  the  revolting  barbarities  of 
the  Poor  Laws  of  Henry  and  Edward.  I'he 
Reformation  under  tliese  kings  has  been  aptly 
described  as  a  revolution  of  the  rich  against 
the  poor.^ 

As  to  the  religious  force  in  the  movement, 
some  writers  have  held  that  Cranmer  and  his 
English  colleagues  were  genuine  reformers, 
whose  tlicological  standpoint  was  mucli  the 
same  as  that  of  the  "  moderate  higli-church- 

'  Dixon,  History  of  the  Church  of  Enylund,  Loud.  1886,  iii.  250. 


REVOLUTION  VERSUS  REFORMATION      13 

man"  of  to-day.  It  has  also  been  definitely 
asserted,  that  their  aim  was  the  adoption  of 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  1549 ;  but 
that  such  a  settlement  was  overthrown  by  the 
foreign  reformers,  and  that  the  result  was  the 
very  different  book  of  1552.  Such  a  theory 
is  plausible,  but  it  does  not  represent  the  facts. 
INIost  of  the  Edwardian  reformers  would,  in 
these  days,  be  best  represented  by  the  Pro- 
testant agitators  of  the  baser  sort,  and  it  is 
open  to  doubt  whether  even  the  comprehen- 
siveness of  the  Anglican  Communion  would 
have  been  wide  enough  to  include  them ! 
By  the  time  that  Edward  had  ascended  the 
throne,  Cranmer  seems  to  have  broken  with 
the  more  moderate  teaching  of  Luther,  and 
to  have  accepted  the  doctrines  of  Calvin. 
INlany  of  his  followers  went  further,  and  were 
avowed  Zwinglians.  With  the  Cranmerian 
party  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  it  was  not 
so  much  a  question  of  reforming  the  old  Missal 
and  Breviary  ^ — they  were  in  their  eyes  beyond 
any  possibility  of  reformation — as  of  supplanting 
them  by  another  system  altogether.  This  of 
course  could  not  be  done  at  once,  but  necessi- 
tated a   stay  at   a   half-way  house — and  this 

^  Extracts  from  the  shocking  and  irreverent  language  used  by 
Cranmer,  Latimer,  Hooper  and  others  with  regard  to  the 
mediaeval  Eucharistic  Service  are  given  in  Blunt,  Reformation 
of  the  Church  of  England,  Lond.  1882,  ii.  399-402. 


14  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

htalf-way  house  was  the  Prayer  Book  of  1549.^ 
This  Book  is  now  valued  in  the  Anghcan 
Communion,  being  by  some  esteemed  as  an 
ideal  service-book.  Even  grantmg  all  this,  it  is 
impossible  to  deny  the  sad  circumstances  of 
its  birth.  Nay,  even  the  ultra-Protestant  Book 
of  1552  was  not  the  ultimate  goal  of  Cramner 
and  his  party ;  since  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  a  third  and  more  anti-Catholic 
book  was  drawn  up  by  Cranmer  himself,  the 
issue  of  which  was  only  happily  averted  by 
the  timely  death  of  Edward  VI.  ^  What  can 
be  thought  of  a  Primate  of  all  England  who, 
under  pretext  of  reforming  the  Church,  did 
his  best  to  overthrow  it  ?  Putting  aside  his 
miserable  subservience  to  the  will  of  a  tyrant 
like  Henry  VIII.,  his  shameless  pandering  to 
the  King's  vices,  what  can  be  thought  of 
Thomas  Cranmer,  who  allowed  himself  to 
become  the  mere  tool  of  those  astute  wire- 
pullers, the  foreign  divines  and  tlie  self-seeking 
Court-party  then  in  power,  whose  object  was 
the  complete  overthrow  of  the  ancient  system  ? 
As  a  modern  writer  has  obser^'ed,  "  The  only 

^  C'raiimer's  spoocli  to  tlie  Devonshire  rebels,  viiidiratiiie:  tlic 
Prayer  liook  of  1549,  is  ol»\ioiisly  a  liit  of  jxiliey,  and  can  liardly 
l)c  tiken  as  liis  sincere  o]»inion.  See  I'rrjxinitioiis  for  flu- nccond 
I'rttijrr  liouk  uf  Jul  ward  VI.,  in  Ch.  IJuar.  JU'i'.,  No.  7'>,  1UU.'3. 

'^  Atcliley,  Sowe  remarks  on  thr  Ediriirdhm  I'rai/cr  liook  in 
EnnitjiN  on  Ci'rrnionutl,  Dt'laniore  I'l'css,  Ijond.  1!>04,  p.  27'.).  See 
also  Hint,  of  the  '/'rouhkti  iit  Fninkjurl,  liond.  l8lLi. 


REVOLUTION    VERSUS  REFORMATION    15 

deed  for  which  we  feel  that  we  owe  any 
gratitude  to  Cranmer  is  for  his  unrivalled 
liturgical  translations,  and  it  may  be  that  this 
feeling  has  in  some  degree  served  to  obscure 
his  real  character."  ^  It  must  also  in  fairness 
be  admitted  that  his  end  was  not  unworthy 
of  a  brave  man,  for  he  died  for  his  convictions. 
But  had  the  regime  of  Edward  continued,  there 
is  little  doubt,  humanly  speaking,  that  the 
Reformation  in  England  would  have  been  like 
that  on  the  continent ;  historical  Christianity 
would  have  ceased  to  exist,  and  the  Ecclesia 
AngUcana  would  have  been  no  more. 

Never  did  both  Church  and  State  sink  so 
low  as  in  the  gloomy  years  of  Edward's 
reign.  The  nominal  ruler  of  England  was  but 
a  sickly  boy,  a  mere  puppet  in  the  hands  of  a 
gang  of  unprincipled  self-seekers ;  and  had  he 
grown  up  with  ultra-Protestanism  on  one  side, 
and  Tudor  traditions  on  the  other,  he  mio'lit 
have  been  the  author  of  untold  harm.  The 
discipline  of  the  ancient  Church  being  sus- 
pended, a  period  of  general  demoralization 
set  in.  It  affected  all  classes,  especially  those 
in  the  towns. 

The  sermons  preached  by  honest  Hugh 
Latimer  before  the  Court  are  a  terrible 
indictment    on    the   practical   results    of    the 

1  Ch.  quart.  Rev.,  No.  62,  1891,  p.  457. 


16  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Reformation.  The  picture  he  draws  of  the 
corruption  of  morals  is  truly  fearful.  It 
looked  as  if  the  Ten  Commandments  would 
soon  share  the  fate  of  the  medieeval  system ; 
so  much  were  they  set  at  nought.  Traheron 
naively  wTites  to  Bullinger, — "  Religion  is 
indeed  prospering,  but  the  wickedness  of  those 
who  profess  the  Gospel  is  wonderfully  on  the 
increase."  ^  There  were  good  and  upright  men 
like  Latimer,  Ridley,  and  Hooper,  who  would 
have  been  ornaments  to  any  cause  or  period ; 
but  on  the  other  hand  there  were  ecclesiastics 
in  the  very  highest  positions  who  were  an  open 
scandal  to  their  profession — men  like  Holgate, 
Archbishop  of  York,  who  was  forbidden  to 
come  to  Parliament  until  an  investigation  was 
made  into  his  conduct  in  regard  to  another 
man's  wife  ;  ^  and  who,  being  found  guilty,  was 
sent  to  the  Tower.^  Or  Poynet,  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, who  lived  in  open  sin  with  a  married 
woman,  and  later  had  to  compound  with  her 
husband,  a  butcher,  by  paying  a  fine."*  Or 
Voysey  and  Kitchin,  Bishops  of  Exeter  and 
Landaff,  respectively,  who  found  their  sees 
amongst  the  richest  in  England,  and  left  them 

^  Orvfinul  Lettcr.%  Parker  Soc,  p.  324. 
'^  Dixon,  iii.  471  note. 

3  Blunt,  The  Reformation  of  the  Church  of  England,  Load.  1882, 
ii.  151  note. 

<  Grey  Friars  Chronicle,  p.  70.     Machyiis  Diary,  p.  8. 


REVOLUTION  VERSUS  REFORMATION      17 

the  poorest.^  As  to  the  foreign  divines,  they 
seem  to  have  been  no  better ;  the  first  wives 
of  JMartin  Bucer  and  Peter  JNIartyr  were  nuns,^ 
and  both  men  held  very  loose  views  about 
divorce.^  Ochino,  who  was  made  prebendary 
of  Canterbury,  advocated  polygamy ;  ^  and 
Florio,  an  Italian  preacher  of  some  note,  was 
threatened  with  banishment  for  a  moral  offence, 
"  which  it  is  difficult  to  name  in  plain  Eng- 
lish."-^ 

Church-desecration  went  on  apace  at  this 
time.  The  cathedrals  and  the  churches  of 
the  land  were  outrageously  profaned  and 
plundered.  Reformers,  professional  and  ama- 
teur, threw  down  altars,  defaced  carvings,  and 
broke  painted  windows ;  and,  acting  in  con- 
junction with  the  Royal  Commissioners,  carted 
off  valuable  loot  in  the  shape  of  gold  and 
silver  chalices  and  gorgeous  vestments,  con- 
veniently labelled  "  superstitious,"  but  which 
were  appropriated  by  the  Royal  Treasury.^ 
Even  the  coin  in  the  poor-boxes  was  taken, 
nothing  in  many  cases  being  left !  Never 
were  the  Universities  at  a  lower  ebb :  the 
prevailing  w^ork  of    destruction   extended   to 

1  Dixon,  iii.  275. 

2  Ibid.  ii.  521.     Blunt,  ii.  166. 

''  Luckoek,  Hint,  of  Marriage^  Lond,  1894,  p.  176  note. 
*  Blunt,  ii.  163. 

'  Dixon,  iii.  426.  ^  jn^^  449-455. 

2 


18  LIFE   OF  AVILLIAM  LAUD 

the  priceless  contents  of  the  Hbraries ;  not  only- 
missals  and  breviaries,  but  other  books  were 
torn  up  and  committed  to  the  flames.^  In- 
capable foreigners,  who  could  not  speak  a  word 
of  English,  were  appointed  to  professorships ; 
whilst  the  number  of  students  steadily 
diminished. 

It  is  sometimes  imagined  that  Edward  VI. 
was  a  munificent  patron  of  learning ;  but  this 
was  not  the  case.  So  moderate  a  writer  as 
Professor  Gairdner  has  ably  exposed  the 
fallacy  of  Edward's  supposed  munificence  in 
the  cause  of  learning. ^  It  is  true  that  he 
founded  Christ's  Hospital  and  St.  Thomas' 
Hospital ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  more  than 
two  hundred  grammar-schools  were  successfully 
plundered  by  Somerset  and  others.^  Those 
schools  to  which  Edward  gave  his  name  were 
each  one  of  them  ancient  foimdations.  In  all 
directions — in  East  Anglia,  in  the  INIidlands,  in 
the  North,  in  the  West  country — there  were 
popular  risings,  partly  in  defence  of  the  old 
religion,  and  partly  because  of  the  oppression 
at  the  hands  of  the  "new  men."  These  out- 
bursts were  ruthlessly  crushed  by  the  party 

*  Dixon,  iii.  109.  G.iirdiicr,  The  Englhh  Church  in  the  Six- 
teenth Crntiin/,  Loud.  r.)0;5,  pp.  290,  291. 

^  (iainliicr,  p.  'U-l. 

3  I^cacli,  KiKjUxli  Sffioo/x  lit  the  RvforDiiitinn,  IjOikI.  1890  ;  qu. 
Wakeniaii  and  I'ullan,  The  Jicjbniiution  in  (Jreut  JJrituin,  Lond. 
1900,  p.  30. 


REVOLUTION    VERSUS  REFORMATION      19 

in  power,  who  imported  from  the  continent 
bands  of  mercenaries,  both  Protestant  and 
Popish,  and  thousands  of  half-armed  EngHsh 
peasants  were  butchered  hke  sheep.  As 
Dixon  has  well  observed, — "  It  is  a  thing  to 
be  held  in  eternal  memory  that  the  English 
Reformation  at  this  great  crisis  was  carried 
on  by  tlie  aid  of  foreign  cut-throats,  who  on 
their  return  to  their  own  countries  sought 
absolution  for  the  sin  of  fighting  for  Heresy."  ^ 
Seldom  has  the  foreign  policy  of  England 
been  more  disastrous, — an  ignominious  peace 
with  France  and  Scotland,  the  surrender  of 
Boulogne,  and  the  relinquishment  of  all  rights 
and  claims  in  either  kingdom. 

At  home  the  State  had  to  resort  to  the  dire 
expedient  of  no  less  than  three  times  debasing 
the  coinage,  and  inflicting  on  the  poor  misery 
past  description.^  Is  it  wonderful,  then,  that 
a  change  of  government  was  welcomed  on  the 
accession  of  Queen  JNIary  ?  The  "  moderate 
men "  of  the  day,  as  well  as  the  thorough- 
going mediaevalists,  welcomed  the  new  7'egime 
with  joy. 

To  Queen  Mary's  reign  we  can  only  briefly 
refer.  It  began  well.  To  a  devout  Anglican 
Catholic  it  is  pleasant  to  read  of  the  building 

1  Dixon,  iii.  49. 

2  Gairdiier,  p.  294. 


20  LIFE   OF   WILLIA:\I   LAUD 

up  of  broken  altars,  the  restoration  of  the 
Eucharist  to  its  true  dignity  with  vestments, 
hghts,  and  incense.  The  strains  of  the  organ 
were  heard  once  more ;  for  organs  were  as 
much  dishked  as  thuribles  by  the  Edwardian 
reformers.^ 

The  restoration  of  the  Papal  Supremacy  in 
the  English  Church,  which  took  place  in  1554, 
was  however  a  retrograde  step.  For  this  the 
Edwardian  rule  may  indirectly  be  blamed. 
INIen  of  the  old  learnino^  who  desired  genuine 
reform,  like  Gardiner  and  others,  had  been 
so  shocked  by  the  iniquities  of  the  reign 
of  Edward,  that  they  were  driven  to  believe 
that  Catholicism  covdd  not  be  detached  from 
Papalism ;  and  the  residt  was,  so  to  speak, 
a  triumph  of  Ultramontanism.  The  extreme 
Romanensian  party  triumphed  in  the  Church 
of  England  in  the  reign  of  JNlary.  In  1555, 
the  persecution  of  the  Protestants  began ;  a 
measure  which  no  one  in  these  days  can  defend. 
It  was  both  brutal  and  detestable,  and  it  was 
besides  a  huge  political  and  ecclesiastical  mis- 
take ;  for  it  converted  half  the  nation  to 
Protestantism,  a  thing  wliich  the  Cranmcrian 
movement  had  egregiously  failed  to  do. 

On  the  deatli  of  INIary,  Ehzabetli  succeeded 
to   the  throne.       If  slic  was  a  great   states- 

'  Atcliley,  The  Edwardian  P.  Bk.,  p.  273. 


REVOLUTION  VERSUS  REFORMATION      21 

woman,  she  was  a  sovereign  singularly  lacking 
in  the  virtues  of  her  sex.  She  was  cruel, 
unforgi\'ing,  imperious,  untruthful,  with  little 
personal  religion ;  and,  if*  some  contempo- 
rary reports  may  be  believed,  strangely  lacking 
in  feminine  morality.  In  her  reign,  the  Papal 
Supremacy  was  at  once  abjured,  and  a  return 
was  made  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of 
15.52,  but  Avith  certain  alterations  in  the  direction 
of  the  Book  of  1549.  In  1571,  the  XXXIX. 
Articles  were  adopted,  a  reA^ision,  m  a  Catholic 
direction,  of  the  XLII.  Articles  of  1553. 
They  were  not  Articles  of  "  Faith "  but  of 
"  Religion," — articles  to  reconcile  the  more 
moderate  ^larian  clergy,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  "  new  learning,"  to  the  existing  state  of 
affairs. 

0\Wng  to  a  strange  mortality  amongst  the 
Marian  bishops,  and  the  Romanensian  attitude 
of  the  survivors,  added  to  political  reasons,  the 
Elizabethan  episcopate  was  chosen,  with  the 
exception  of  Parker  and  Chepiey,  almost  ex- 
clusively fi'om  the  extreme  Protestant  clergy. 
Protestantism,  thanks  to  the  ]Marian  persecu- 
tion, had  now  been  acclimatized  in  England, 
and  its  cause  was  also  furthered  bv  the  return 
of  the  refugees  who  were  ultra-protestants  of 
the  Genevan  and  Zwinglian  ty^e.  Of  the 
Marian  clergy,  all,  with  the  exception  of  about 


22  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

three  hundred,  conformed.  The  old  usages 
continued  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  but 
the  bishops  did  their  best  to  suppress  them. 
The  result  of  a  Protestant  episcopate  and  the 
return  of  the  refugees,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
Romanist  conspiracies  against  the  Queen,  and 
the  enmity  of  the  Papal  powers  of  Europe  to 
England,  tended  to  make  the  Church  more  or 
less  anti-Catholic  during  the  earlier  half  of 
Elizabeth's  reign. 

A  moderating  influence,  however,  was  that 
of  the  Queen,  whose  religion,  as  far  as  it  went, 
was  of  a  more  conservative  type  than  that  of 
many  of  her  subjects.  In  her  sister's  reign  it 
needed  not  a  great  effort  on  her  part  to  con- 
form, and  in  the  Chapels  Royal  a  certain 
amount  of  ceremonial  seems  to  have  been  in 
use.  She  also  directed  and  supported  the 
beneficial  efforts  of  Archbishops  Parker  and 
Whitgift  in  suppressing  ultra-protestant,  or 
as  it  came  to  be  called  Puritan  lawlessness, 
and  in  this  way  tlie  good  that  she  wrought 
cannot  with  justice  be  overlooked.  Never- 
theless, she  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  a 
"good  Church-woman,"  when  we  remember 
her  scandalous;  rapacity  in  seizing  upon  the 
patrimony  of  the  Clunx'h,  to  say  nothing  of  what 
we  know  of  her  personal  character.  Her  zeal 
against  Calvinistic  Puritanism  was  evoked  by  its 


RETURN  TO   OLD   PATHS  23 

decidedly  anti-monarchical  character.  Toward 
the  end  of  her  reign,  however,  a  definite  reaction 
against  Calvinism  set  in,  a  return  to  the  old 
paths,  a  veering  round  to  the  principles  of  a 
constructive  Reformation.  This  return  seems 
to  have  been  gradual  and  partial,  but  the  trend 
of  affairs  is  shown  by  the  Canons  of  1571. 
They  enjoined  the  clergy,  never  to  preach 
anything  to  be  religiously  held  and  believed 
by  the  people,  but  what  is  agreeable  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
and  which  the  Catholic  Fathers  and  ancient 
Bishops  have  collected  out  of  that  doctrine. 
In  theory,  the  Edwardian  Reformers  ap- 
pealed to  the  Primitive  Church  ;  but  it  was 
only  so  far  as  its  decisions  happened  to  coin- 
cide with  the  opinions  of  the  foreign  divines, 
— not  a  frequent  occurrence.  In  1589,  Ban- 
croft is  found  preaching  that  the  Episcopate 
is  of  divine  origin.^  In  1594,  the  first  four 
books  of  Hooker's  immortal  work.  The  Laws 
of  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  make  their  appearance. 
In  the  following  reign  we  meet  with  such 
Catholic-minded  divines  as  Andrewes  and 
Overall.  James  I.  had  enough  of  Presby- 
terianism  in  Scotland,  and  found  out  that  it 
was  unpleasantly  republican ;  so  his  influence 
was  exerted  on  the  other  side.    The  Hampton 

1  Perry,  Student's  C'h.  Hist.,  Loud.  1878,  p.  343. 


24  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

Court  Conference  also  favoured  the  new  move- 
ment ;  but  it  needed  some  strong  man,  some 
leader,  some  man  of  action,  to  organize  the 
attack  against  the  forces  of  ultra-Protestantism, 
and  to  fight  a  series  of  engagements  which 
should  culminate  in  victory. 

The  man  who  was  raised  up  for  this  work 
was  William  Laud.  It  is  true  that,  like  many- 
other  great  leaders,  he  fell  on  the  field  of  battle ; 
but  the  victory  was  won.  True  Reformation- 
principles  took  the  place  of  false.  Humanly 
speaking,  we  can  say  that  if  Laud  had  not 
lived,  the  Ecclesia  AngUcana  would  have 
degenerated  into  a  Protestant  sect,  and  Eng- 
land would  now  be  like  Germany,  Holland,  or 
Switzerland, — Lutheran,  Calvinistic,  or  Zwin- 
glian  ;  and,  moreover,  beyond  a  doubt,  a  flour- 
ishing and  increasing  branch  of  the  Roman 
Church  would  be  in  our  midst,  as  is  the  case 
to-day  in  Protestant  countries  abroad. 

We  have  dwelt  long  upon  the  early  history 
of  the  English  Reformation,  for  we  are  con- 
vinced that  it  is  not  possible  to  estimate  rightly 
the  work  and  influence  of  AVilliam  Laud,  Avith- 
out  considering  carefully  the  religious  move- 
ments which  had  taken  place  when  he  came 
into  power. 


CHAPTER  II 

LAUD    AT    OXFORD 

laud's        birth       and        parentage ELIZA- 
BETHAN   OXFORD LAUD     AT     ST.     JOHN's 

THE    FALSE    STEP LAUD   AS   PARISH    PRIEST 

LAUD    AT    GLOUCESTER 

Of  the  early  years  of  William  Laud  but  little 
is  known ;  even  Peter  Heylin  his  intimate 
friend  and  chaplain,  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  many  important  details  of  Laud's  career 
recorded  in  his  Cijprianus  AngUcus  (as  he 
styles  his  Life  of  Laud),  tells  us  next  to  nothing 
of  his  boyhood.  Laud  was  born  October  7, 
1573,  in  the  town  of  Heading,  then  as  now, 
the  principal  town  in  the  county  of  Berks. 
His  ffither,  William  Laud,  was  a  clothier  in 
a  considerable  way  of  business.  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Lucy  Webb,  a  sister  of  Sir 
W.  Webb  who  was  Lord  INIayor  of  London 
in  the  year  1591.  Her  first  husband  was  John 
llobinson,  a  clothier  of  some  standing  in  Read- 
ing.    After  his   death,   she   married  William 

o 

25 


26  LIFE   OF  WILLIAIM  LAUD 

Laud  ;  and  the  only  offspring  of  this  marriage 
was  the  future  archbishop. 

HeyHn  narrates  how  he  one  day  found  Laud 
walking  in  the  garden  at  Lambeth,  agitated 
and  distressed  on  reading  a  foul  libel  which 
made  reflections  upon  his  birth.  On  seeing 
Heylin,  he  turned  to  him  and  said,  that 
"  though  he  had  not  the  good  fortune  to  be 
born  a  gentleman,  yet  he  thanked  God  that 
he  had  been  born  of  honest  parents  who  lived 
in  plentiful  condition,  employed  many  poor 
people  m  their  way,  and  left  a  good  report 
behind  them."  To  which  Heylin  reminded  the 
Archbishop,  "that  Pope  Sixtus  V.,  as  stout  a 
pope  as  ever  wore  the  triple  crown,  but  a  poor 
man's  son,  did  use  familiarly  to  say,  in  con- 
tempt of  such  libels  as  were  frequently  made 
against  him,  that  he  was  born  of  an  illustrious 
house  {domo  natus  illustri)^  because  the  sun- 
beams passing  through  the  broken  walls  and 
ragged  roof  illustrated  e\'ery  corner  of  the 
homely  cottage  in  which  he  was  born."^ 
Laud  tluis  sprang  from  a  good  middle- 
class  family — a  class  which  in  the  sixteentli 
century,  as  in  the  present  day,  was  in  many 
ways  the  backbone  of  the  country. 

In  the  time  of  VN'^illiam  Laud  the  glories  of 
lleathng  had,  to  a  large  extent,  passed  away. 

'   Heylin,  Cypriunus  Anylicuft,  Loud.  1G71,  pp.  43,  44. 


LAUD'S   BIRTH   AND   PARENTAGE       2T 

The  magnificent  abbey,  dedicated  to  St.  JNIary 
and  St.  Jolin,  had  been  laid  waste  and  was  no 
more  ;  its  wealth  doubtless  being  in  the  hands 
of  some  worthless  favourite  of  Henry  VIII.  or 
his  descendant :  but  there  still  remained  the 
beautiful  churches  of  St.  Lawrence  and  St. 
Giles.  There  was  also  the  Grammar-school 
founded  by  Thorne,  abbot  of  St.  JNIary's  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI.  King  Henry  VII.  en- 
dowed this  school  with  £lO  a  year;  and  in 
the  reign  of  Queen  Mary,  Sir  Thomas  White 
annexed  to  it  two  fellowships  of  St.  John's, 
Oxford,  the  college  he  had  lately  founded.  It 
was  at  Reading  grammar-school  that  Laud 
was  educated.  As  a  child,  Laud  was  sickly 
and  constantly  ailing,  indeed  in  infancy  he  was 
in  serious  danger  of  death.  However,  as  is  not 
seldom  the  case,  his  will  and  spirit  carried  him 
through  all  difficulties ;  and,  as  a  school-boy, 
he  astonished  his  master  by  his  application  to 
his  studies,  and  his  quickness  in  acquiring 
knowledge.  In  1 589,  he  left  Reading  grammar- 
school  and  began  his  career  at  Oxford  ;  so  that 
here  it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  pause  for  a 
moment  to  consider  the  condition  of  the 
University,  towards  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

The  disastrous   i^egime   under  Edward  VI. 
had  been  succeeded  by  more  stable  times  in  the 


28  LIFE   OF  WILLIA:M   LAUD 

reign  of  JNIaiy,  when  benefactors  came  for- 
ward and  founded  colleges  and  scholarships  in 
the  cause  of  sound  learning,  a  thing  which 
they  could  hardly  have  been  expected  to  do  in 
the  revolutionary  days  of  the  previous  reign. 
Amongst  the  number  was  Sir  Thomas  White, 
who  munificently  founded  the  College  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  upon  the  ruins  of  an  old 
Bernardine  House.  It  was  not  till  1567  that 
the  college  was  formally  incorporated  in  the 
University.  Sir  Thomas  AA^hite,  like  many 
others  of  the  more  moderate  Romanensian 
party,  accepted  the  changes  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  and  settled  down  as  a  "  good 
churchman,"  as  he  doubtless  would  have  been 
designated  to-day.  But  men  of  his  school 
were  in  a  considerable  minority,  the  prevailing 
tone  of  Elizabethan  churchmanship,  as  has 
already  been  observed,  being  of  a  foreign  rather 
than  of  a  native  type.  The  slavish  deference 
to  Geneva  and  Zurich,  which  characterized  the 
leaders  of  so-called  reform  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.,  was  again  manifesting  itself. 
The  reaction  in  favour  of  the  older  paths, 
wliich  was  originated  by  Hooker  and  others, 
had  hardly  yet  made  itself  felt,  whilst 
the  followers  of  Grindal,  Cox,  and  Sandys 
carried  everything  before  them.  Such  bishops 
made  short  work  of  any  Catholic  tendencies 


ELIZABETHAN   OXFORD  29 

and  usages  that  remained  here  and  there,  while 
the  greatest  violations  of  the  order  of  the  Rook 
of  Common  Prayer  were  winked  at,  and  even 
encouraged.  In  both  the  city  and  university 
of  Oxford  this  party  reigned  supreme,  aided  as 
it  was  by  the  powerful  patronage  of  the  Earl 
of  Leicester,  a  worthless  profligate  and  a 
favourite  of  Elizabeth,  who  supported  this 
extreme  type  of  Protestantism  from  political 
and  selfish  motives.  Here  and  there,  no  doubt, 
faithful  men  were  to  be  found,  like  Buckeridge, 
Laud's  tutor, — men  who  lay  low,  and  hoped 
and  prayed  for  better  times.  But  the  religious 
tone  of  Oxford  was  assuredly  that  of  ultra- 
Protestantism,  or  Puritanism^  as  it  began  to  be 
called. 

AVhen  the  campaign  against  Puritanism 
was  over,  and  the  decisive  victory  won  by  the 
life  and  death  of  William  Laud,  Heylin,  his 
biographer,  looking  back  at  the  past  in  the 
comfortable  days  of  Charles  II.,  could  write 
the  following  quaint  and  racy  description  of 
Puritan  Oxford,  as  it  existed  in  Elizabeth's 
days. 

By  the  power  and  practices  of  these  men^  and  the 
long  continuance  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester  in  the  place 
of  Chancellor  tlie  face  of  that  University  was  so  much 
altered^  that  there  was  little  to  be  seen  in  it  of  the 

1  For  the  origin  and  explanation  of  the  epithet  "  Puritan,"  see 
Dr.  Paget's  Introduction  to  Hooker,  Book  V.,  pp.  10  If. 


30  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

Church  of  England  according  to  the  Principles  and 
Positions  upon  -\vhicli  it  was  first  Reformed.  All  the 
Calvinian  Rigors  in  matters  of  Predestination,  and  the 
Points  depending  thereupon,  received  as  the  Estab- 
lished Doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England;  the 
necessity  of  the  one  Sacrament,  the  eminent  dignity 
of  the  other,  and  the  powerful  efficacy  of  both  unto 
man's  salvation,  not  only  disputed  but  denied.  .  .  . 
Episcopacy  mainbiined  by  halves  not  as  a  distinct 
Order  from  that  of  Presbyters,  but  only  a  degree  above 
them,  or  perhaps  not  that,  for  fear  of  giving  scandal 
to  the  churches  of  Calvin's  Platform ;  the  church  of 
Rome  inveighed  against  as  the  JV/iore  of  Babylon,  or 
the  Mother  of  Abominations ;  the  Pope  as  publickly 
maintamed  to  be  the  Antichrist  or  Man  of  sin,  and  that 
as  positively  and  magisterially  as  if  it  had  been  one  of 
thechief  Articles  of  the  Christian  Faith.  .  .  .  Nor  was 
there  any  greater  care  taken  for  the  Forms  and  Orders 
of  this  Church  than  there  had  been  for  points  of 
Doctrine.  The  Surplice  so  disused  in  officiating  the 
Divine  Service  of  the  Church,  and  the  Divine  Service 
of  the  Church  so  slubbered  over  in  most  of  the 
Colleges  that  the  Prelates  and  Clerme  assembled  in 
Convocation  anno  l603  were  necessitiited  to  frame  two 
Canons  ...  to  bring  them  back  again  to  the  ancient 
practices  .  .  .  the  Habits  of  the  Priests  by  which 
they  were  to  be  distinguished  from  other  men  so 
much  despised  and  laid  aside,  that  Dr.  Reynolds  had 
the  confidence  to  appear  in  the  conference  at  Hampton 
Court  in  his  Turkey  gown,  and  therefore  may  be 
thought  to  have  worn  no  other  in  the  University  ; 
and  in  a  word  the  books  of  Gilvin  made  the  rule  by 
which  all  men  were  to  square  their  Writings,  his  only 
word  (like  the  ip.sc  dixit  of  Pythagoras)  admitted  for 
the  sole  canon  to  which  they  were  to  frame  and  con- 


ELIZABETHAN   OXFORD  31 

form  their  Judgments  and  in  comparison  of  whom 
the  ancient  Fathers  of  the  Church  must  be  held 
contemptible. 1 

It  is  interesting  for  us  to  try  and  picture 
William  I^aud,  a  lad  of  barely  sixteen, 
entering  upon  this  new  world,  as  it  was  to 
him — a  world  very  different  from  that  of 
the  Oxford  of  the  twentieth  century.  In  some 
ways  things  have  improved,  and  again  in 
others  the  laudator  temporis  acti  may  be  in 
the  right  when  he  confesses  that  things  were 
better  in  the  past.  Life  in  the  university 
three  hundred  years  ago  was,  of  course,  like 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  age,  far 
rougher  than  it  is  to-day. 

What,  for  instance,  would  the  modern 
undergraduate  think  of  rising  at  5  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  going  to  chapel,  perhaps,  at 
5.30,  and  then  studying  till  10,  the  hour  of 
dinner  ? — for  the  meal  called  "  breakfast "  was 
practically  unknown  till  a  hundred  years  later. 
After  dinner  there  would  follow  more  study, 
with  some  recreation  interspersed,  evening 
chapel  at  4  o'clock,  and  supper  at  5.  Two 
meals  a  day  was  then  the  custom,  for  not  long 
before  the  days  of  Laud,  had  not  such  a  light 
of  the  medical  profession  as  Dr.  Andrew 
Boorde,  physician  to  Henry  VIII.,  dogmatically 

1  Heylin,  pp.  47,  48. 


32  LIFE   OF  WILLIA:\1  LAUD 

declared  that  he  who  partook  of  more  than 
two  meals  a  day  doth  "  live  a  beestly  lyfFe  "  ? 
As  to  the  meals  themselves,  they  cannot 
have  been  of  a  very  recherche  character ;  from 
a  sermon  preached  shortly  before  Sh*  Thomas 
White  founded  his  college,  we  learn  that  the 
students  were  content  "  with  a  penny  piece  of 
beef  between  four,  having  a  pottage  made 
with  the  same  beef  with  salt  and  oatmeal  and 
nothing  else  ...  a  supper  not  better  than 
their  dinner."^  After  supper,  followed  more 
study  till  9  or  10 ;  and  then,  before  an  early 
retirement  to  sleep,  it  was  the  custom  both  at 
Oxford  and  Cambridge  for  the  undergraduates 
to  trot  briskly  round  "  quad,"  so  as  to  warm 
themselves  before  getting  into  bed,  sin(?e  their 
rooms  had  no  fires.  It  seems  also  to  have  been 
the  usual  practice  for  two  students  to  share  a 
room.  This  was  certainly  so  in  the  case  of 
Laud,  for  one  John  Jones  was  his  "  chamber 
fellow,"  a  man  who  later  turned  Romanist,  and 
attained  some  celebrity  as  Dom  Leander  of 
the  Benedictine  Abbey  of  San  Martino  Cam- 
postella,  in  Spain. 

In  those  days  the  universities  -were  no  doubt 
more  democratic  than  they  are  now,  for  the 
numerous  benefactions  and  scholarships,  tied 
to  the  kin  of  the  founders  or  to  the  natiA  es  of 

'  Iluttou,  «.  John  Bnptkt  College,  Lond.  1898,  p.  35. 


ELIZABETHAN   OXFORD  33 

their  counties  and  cities,  enabled  many  poor 
and  deserving  men  to  go  to  the  University. 
By  a  strange  irony  of  fate,  both  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge,  nineteenth-century  hberaUsm  has, 
on  the  plea  of  throwing  open  these  benefac- 
tions to  all,  favoured  the  rich  man's  son,  who 
is  able  to  pay  expensive  tutors  ;  whilst  the  poor 
student  from  Exeter  or  Yorkshire,  for  whose 
benefit  the  benefactions  were  originally  in- 
tended, is  now  often  excluded.  In  Laud's 
time,  the  age  of  the  students  was  consider- 
ably lower  than  it  is  at  present.  In  his  day, 
inidergraduates  at  the  universities  were  treated 
more  as  the  fourth-form  boys  at  a  public 
school,  than  as  men.  Again,  the  intercourse 
between  undergraduates  and  tutors  was  then 
much  closer  than  it  is  now.  The  fellows  and 
tutors  of  a  college  did  not  live  with  their 
families  in  villas  a  mile  away,  but  were  un- 
married and  lived  in  college.  If  a  tutor  was 
unworthy,  his  example  would  doubtless  have 
been  very  injurious  amongst  the  students  with 
whom  he  lived  ;  whilst  the  influence  of  a  faith- 
ful and  devout  tutor,  who  gave  himself  up  to 
his  important  duties,  must  have  been  very 
great. 

It  was  to  this  Elizabethan  Oxford  that  Laud 
came  up  in  the  year  1589,  to  begin  his  uni- 
versity career  as  a  commoner  of  St.  John's 


34  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

College.  For  him  the  Puritan  system  had  no 
attractions,  his  religious  training  at  home  had 
been  of  a  kind  more  loyal  to  the  Church. 
Added  to  this,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to 
come  under  the  influence  of  Buckeridge,  who 
was  his  tutor,  a  man  devoted  to  the  old  paths, 
as  we  have  already  said.  Laud  is  described  by 
Anthony  a  Wood  ^  as  being  "  esteemed  by  all 
who  knew  him  a  ^  ery  forward,  confident,  zealous 
person."  In  stature  he  was  small,  and  in  health 
he  was  delicate,  but  he  was  endowed  with  more 
than  ordinary  strength  of  character,  having 
also  much  affection  towards  his  friends.  Such  a 
character,  backed  up  by  the  wise  guidance  of  his 
tutor,  admirably  fitted  him  to  swim  against  the 
tide,  and  to  take  the  unpopular  side.  With 
him  the  temptations  to  amusement  and  idle- 
ness that  come  to  young  men  in  vigorous 
health,  had  little  force ;  and  we  find  that  he 
persevered  in  his  old  habits  of  study,  which 
had  so  pleased  his  schoolmaster  at  Reading. 
He  soon  became  scholar  of  his  college,  and 
after  three  years  was  admitted  to  a  fellowship. 
Laud  obtained  his  B.A.  degree  in  1504,  and 
his  INI.  A.  in  1,598.  He  became  Proctor  in  the 
year  1003,  and  he  was  noted  for  his  mildness ; 
in  this  he  was  a  contrast  to  his  fellow  Proctor. 

'  iii.  col.  121,  qu.  Le  Bas,  Z<(/e  of  Archbishop  Laud,  Lond.  1836, 
p.  o. 


LAUD   AT  ST.  JOHN'S  35 

Anthony  a  Wood  has  preserved  the  amusing 
episode  of  a  drunken  fellow,  who,  being  sur- 
prised by  I^aud  in  his  sleep  on  Peniless  Bench, 
turned  to  the  somewhat  diminutive  Proctor, 
exclaiming,  *'  Thou  little  morsell  of  justice, 
prithee  let  me  alone  and  be  at  rest."^ 

In  the  year  IGOO  Laud  was  ordained  deacon, 
and  in  the  following  year  priest.  At  his 
ordination  to  the  priesthood  it  is  related  that 
Young,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  who  ordained 
him,  encouraged  him  in  the  following  words : 
*'  that  if  he  lived  he  would  be  an  instrument 
of  restoring  the  Church  from  the  narrow  and 
private  principles  of  modern  times,  to  the  more 
free,  large,  and  public  sentiments  of  the  purest 
and  best  ages."  ^     A  true  prophecy  indeed  ! 

Up  to  this  point  the  history  of  Laud  had 
been  uneventful.  He  lived  the  quiet  yet  busy 
life  of  a  fellow  of  his  college,  devoted  to  study 
and  faithful  service  of  God  and  man,  in  the 
station  in  which  he  had  been  placed.  But 
events  soon  happened  which  were  destined  to 
bring  him  before  the  world  in  a  more  or  less 
public  character.  In  1602,  he  was  called  upon 
by  his  college  to  read  the  Lecture  of  JNIrs. 
IVIay's  foundation.  The  theme  chosen  was, 
"  The  constant  and  perpetual  visibility  of  the 

1  qu.  Iluttou,  -S'^.  John  Baptist  College,  p.  97. 

2  Baines,  p.  18. 


36  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

Church  of  Christ " ;  in  which  he  maintained 
the  identity  of  the  Church  of  England  of  his 
OMTi  day  with  the  Pre-reformation  Church — an 
historical  commonplace  at  the  present  time, 
but  in  Calvinistic  Oxford  of  Elizabeth's  reign, 
a  proposition  regarded  as  most  daring.  For  a 
young  fellow  of  a  then  somewhat  obscure 
college  to  expound  such  a  startling  doctrine, 
was  a  bold  thing.  He  assuredly  ^  indicated  the 
truth  of  Anthony  h  Wood's  saying,  that  he 
was  "forward,  confident,  and  zealous."  Such 
opinions  as  Laud  propounded  fell  like  a  bomb 
upon  the  leader  of  the  Puritan  Party,  Dr. 
George  Abbot,  INIaster  of  University  CoUege, 
Dean  of  Winchester,  and  in  1603  Vice-Chan- 
cellor  of  the  University,  to  whom  Laud  ever 
afterwards  was  the  special  bete  noire. 

Again,  in  the  year  1604,  he  came  before  the 
dominant  party  in  the  University  as  the  auda- 
cious exponent  of  unsound  doctrines.  In  the 
exercise  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Di^dnity, 
the  subject  that  he  selected  was,  (i.)  the  necessity 
of  Baptism;  and  (ii.)  that  there  could  be  no  true 
Church  without  bishops ;  both  of  which  pro- 
positions he  earnestly  defended.  A  sermon  at 
the  University  Church  preached  in  1606  had 
also  a  like  effect.  It  was  held  to  contain  such 
llomish  teaching,  that  he  was  personally  ques- 
tioned by  Dr.  Airay,  the  Vicc-Chancellor ;  and 


LAUD  AT  ST.  JOHN'S  37 

afterwards  it  was  deemed  dangerous  to  ap- 
proach such  a  heretic  or  even  to  sahite  him  in 
the  streets  !     Laud  was  now  a  marked  man. 

Laud  seems  to  have  taken  this  persecution 
with  marvellous  equanimity.  He  "  sat  under  " 
Dr.  Abbot,  that  redoubtable  Calvinist,  and 
listened  to  his  pulpit  fulminations,  and  even 
beheld  the  audience  pointing  at  him  all  the 
time  as  the  miscreant  concerned.  "  Perfect 
coolness  and  good  temper  marked  Laud's 
academical  career  throughout,"  says  Dr.  JNIoz- 
ley.^  One  is  so  apt  to  think  of  Laud  as  the 
great  ecclesiastic  only,  the  leader  of  a  policy, 
that  as  the  "  small  man,"  the  obscure  Oxford 
fellow,  he  is  liable  to  be  overlooked.  "  He 
was  long  all  but  alone,  and  had  an  uphill 
course.  Dignitaries  condemned,  acquaint- 
ances avoided,  even  friends  suspected  him  :  he 
endured  a  humiliating  discipline  and  a  severe 
succession  of  rubs."^  And,  as  in  the  case  of 
other  men  in  very  different  paths  of  life,  it  was 
this  period  of  isolation  and  adversity  that  laid 
the  foundation  of  his  character,  and  to  a  great 
extent  gave  it  that  strength  which  friend  and 
foe  alike  have  admired. 

At  this  point  in  our  narrative  it  is  necessary 
to  go  back  a  year,  in  order  to  record  an  event 

^  Essays  Historical  and  Theological,  Lond.,  i.  120. 
'^  Ibid.  i.  115. 


38  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM  LAUD 

which  befell  William  Laud,  a  sin  over  which 
he  mourned  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  had 
been  appointed  Chaplain  to  Lord  INIountjoy, 
Earl  of  Devonshire ;  and,  by  the  urgent  en- 
treaties of  his  patron,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to 
solemnize  a  marriage  between  him  and  Lady 
Penelope  Devereux,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of 
Essex.  This  lady  had  been  divorced  a  inensd 
et  thoro  from  her  husband,  Lord  Rich,  in  con- 
sequence of  adultery  with  the  Earl  of  Devon- 
shire, who  desiring  to  have  the  children  which 
she  had  borne  to  him  accounted  legitimate, 
persuaded  Laud  to  solemnize  his  marriage 
with  this  lady.  It  appears  that  in  early  years 
an  ardent  attachment  on  both  sides  had  been 
formed,  and  a  verbal  but  unattested  contract 
of  marriage  had  taken  place.  For  the  warmest 
admirers  of  Laud  to  defend  his  conduct  in  this 
matter  is  quite  impossible.  He  sinned  griev- 
ously, and  he  knew  it.  Such  a  blot  stands  out 
in  liis  life  as  a  paradox,  for  it  was  contrary  to 
his  character.  For  a  man  like  Cranmer  to 
have  acted  in  this  way  would  not  have  aston- 
ished us ;  nay,  to  such  a  dweller  "  in  kings' 
houses,"  it  would  have  been  the  natural  course 
to  take ;  but  with  Laud  it  was  quite  different. 
He  was  made  of  sterner  stufi'.  He  was  essen- 
tially a  strong  man,  a  man  of  principle.  The 
clothier's   son,    who    became    Trimate    of    all 


THE   FALSE   STEP  39 

England,  was  no  respecter  of  persons,  even  in 
an  age  when  sycophants  abounded.  Besides, 
was  he  not  an  upholder  of  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer,  and  one  who  walked  in  the  old 
paths  ?  The  only  excuse  that  can  be  made  for 
him  is  that  even  he  was  influenced  by  the 
loose  teaching  upon  Holy  Matrimony  of  the 
Lutheran,  Cah  inistic  and  Zwinglian  factions. 
Had  not  Luther  permitted  the  Elector  of 
Hesse  to  have  two  wives  at  the  same  time  ? 
and  was  not  Bucer — one  of  the  more  moderate 
foreigners — notoriously  lax  on  the  subject  of 
divorce  ?  ^  And  not  only  do  we  find  Heylin 
holding  a  lax  view  about  divorce,  but  a  greater 
man  than  Heylin  fell  into  much  the  same  sin 
as  Laud.  In  the  case  of  the  divorce  of  Lady 
Essex  from  her  husband,  Lancelot  Andrewes 
at  first  pronounced  decisively  against  it ;  but, 
when  he  took  his  seat  as  one  of  a  commission 
upon  the  case,  he  deliberately  changed  his 
opinion,  unable  to  resist  the  influence  of  the 
Sovereign.  Yet  his  biographers  are  unable 
to  produce  any  proof  of  his  penitence.  Laud 
and  Andrewes  alike  took  a  false  step,  but  Laud 
was  penitent  for  his  sin  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  Year  by  year,  he  observed  St.  Stephen's 
day  (the  anniversary  of  the  event)  as  a  day  of 
penitence  and  humiliation  before  God.    Heylin 

1  See  above^  p.  17. 


40  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

concludes  his  reference  to  Laud's  penitence 
witli  the  words,  "  A  brave  example  of  a  peni- 
tent and  afflicted  soul,  which  many  of  us  will 
admire,  but  few  will  imitate."^ 

We  must  now  return  to  Laud  at  the  Uni- 
versity. It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  divide  the 
life  of  Laud  into  sections,  for  he  held  various 
benefices  and  posts  at  the  University  at  the 
same  time.  This  chapter  will  therefore  con- 
clude with  his  resignation  of  the  Presidentship 
of  St.  John's  College  in  1621. 

While  still  a  fellow  of  his  college,  Laud  was 
appointed  in  the  year  1607  to  the  benefice  of 
Stamford  in  Northamptonshire  ;  in  the  follow- 
ing year  another  benefice,  that  of  North  Kil- 
worth  in  Leicestershire,  was  given  to  him.  In 
1608,  he  proceeded  to  his  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity.  At  this  time,  through  the  influence 
of  Dr.  Buckeridge,  he  was  introduced  to  Neile, 
Bishop  of  Rochester,  who  made  him  his  chap- 
lain, upon  which  he  exchanged  the  benefice 
of  North  Kilworth  for  that  of  \Yest  Tilbury 
in  Essex,  in  order  to  be  nearer  his  patron. 
In  1610,  Bisliop  Neile  presented  him  to  the 
benefice  of  Cuckstone  in  Kent,  whereupon  he 
resigned  his  fellowship. 

In  these  days  we  sliould  look  with  astonish- 
ment at  any  man  holding  so  many  cures  of 

'  Heyliiij  p.  64. 


LAUD   AS   PARISH   PRIEST  41 

souls  .simultaneously ;  but  we  must  remember 
that,  in  the  early  seventeenth  century,  a  bad 
tradition  existed — a  tradition  which  cannot 
be  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  Reformation,  for 
it  flourished  vigorously  in  mediaeval  times. 
Moreover,  Laud  was  a  mild  offender  in  the 
matter,  for  on  his  appointment  to  Cuckstone, 
he  resigned  his  fellowship ;  and  when  made 
Dean  of  Gloucester  he  resigned  West  Tilbury. 
Also,  as  we  shall  see  later,  on  the  very  day 
that  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  St.  David's, 
he  insisted  on  giving  up  the  headship  of  St. 
John's ;  although  the  King  had  given  him 
special  permission  to  hold  both  offices.  That 
a  more  wholesome  feeling  in  regard  to  plural- 
ism is  now  current,  is  after  all  largely  due 
to  the  true  reformation  that  William  Laud 
effected  in  the  Church. 

Concerning  Laud's  life  as  a  parish  priest, 
little  account  has  been  preserved.  No  doubt  he 
was,  to  use  his  own  expression,  as  "  thorough  " 
as  pastor  as  he  had  been  whilst  fellow  of  his 
college.  Of  necessity  he  was  sometimes  non- 
resident, but  it  is  easy  to  imagine  how,  when 
he  did  reside,  he  would  have  thrown  himself 
heart  and  soul  into  parochial  work.  His  in- 
dustry, activity,  single-mindedness,  and  deter- 
mination, would  doubtless  have  been  displayed. 
We  learn  that  on  taking  possession  of  a  cure 


42  LIFE   OF  WILLIAIM   LAUD 

of  souls,  he  always  assigned  an  annual  pension 
to  twelve  poor  persons,  laying  aside  one-fifth 
of  the  income  of  the  benefice  for  charitable 
purposes,  putting  the  glebe-house  into  good 
repair,  and  taking  care  that  the  church  was 
supplied  with  decent  furniture.^ 

In  the  year  1611,  Laud  was  a  candidate  for 
the  Presidentship  of  St.  John's  College,  and 
on  this  occasion  a  regrettable  incident  took 
place.  Bayhe,  one  of  the  supporters  of 
Rawlinson,  his  opponent,  perceiving  that  the 
result  would  be  favourable  to  Laud,  had  the 
indecency  to  seize  the  scrutiny-paper  and  tear 
it  in  pieces.  Owing  to  this  action,  doubt  was 
thrown  upon  the  regularity  of  the  election. 
The  matter  was  referred  to  King  James,  who 
adjudicated  in  person,  and,  after  a  hearing  of 
three  hours,  decided  in  Laud's  favour.  This 
event  shows  how  strong  was  the  feeling  in 
Oxford  against  Laud,  owing  to  his  open  and 
candid  espousal  of  an  unpopular  cause.  It 
may  be  mentioned,  in  proof  of  his  magnani- 
mous nature,  that  he  forgave  the  author  of 
tliis  outrage,  and  bestowed  upon  him  his 
patronage  in  making  him  his  chaplain,  giving 
him  preferment,  and  eventually  by  his  in- 
fluence obtaining  his  election  to  the  President- 
ship of  the  college.     For  the  next  four  years 

'   Le  Bas,  p.  17. 


LAUD   AT   GLOUCESTER  43 

Laud  resided  much  at  Oxford.  St.  John's, 
from  being  a  small  and  unimportant  college, 
under  Laud's  rule  became  one  of  the  most 
famous  in  the  University.  Although  tolerant, 
Laud  was  a  disciplinarian,  and  the  government 
of  the  college  improved  under  his  rule.  The 
material  fabric  was  also  added  to. 

In  the  year  1G16,  Laud  became  Dean  of 
Gloucester,  the  duties  of  which  office  were 
comparatively  easy  to  combine  with  the 
Presidentship  of  St.  John's  College.  The 
Deanery  of  Gloucester  brought  him  more 
trouble  than  emolument ;  for  it  was  then  that 
he  first  came  into  active  opposition  with 
Puritanism.  The  income  of  the  deanery  was 
greatly  impoverished,  King  James  humor- 
ously designating  it,  "a  shell  without  a 
kernel."  The  Cathedral  church  of  Gloucester 
was  at  this  time  perhaps  the  worst  ordered 
in  the  kingdom ;  the  services  were  carelessly 
and  irreverently  performed,  and  the  rules  of 
the  Prayer  Book  ignored.  Laud  at  once  set 
himself  to  reform  matters,  persuading  the 
chapter  to  remove  the  Holy  Table  fi-om  the 
middle  of  the  church  to  the  east  end,  thus 
securing  it  from  profanation.  He  also  per- 
suaded the  chapter  to  make  a  reverence  on 
entering  the  quire,  an  ancient  custom  which 
still  continued   in   some   other  places.      The 


44.  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Bishop  of  the  Diocese  was  Dr.  ^Miles  Smith, 
a  man  whose  learning  was  more  ponderous 
than  gi'eat.  He  was  one  of  the  translators 
of  the  "  authorized  version  "  of  the  Bible,  and 
the  composer  of  that  remarkably  grotesque 
effusion  in  which  the  book  is  dedicated  to 
King  James  I.  Dr.  Smith,  who  was  a 
thorough -going  Puritan,  was  transported  with 
indignation  at  the  action  of  the  new  Dean ; 
but  not  being  able  to  interfere,  he  ended 
by  philosophically  making  a  vow  which  he 
carried  out,  never  again  to  set  foot  in  the 
cathedral !  The  city  of  Gloucester  seems  to 
have  then  been  a  stronghold  of  the  Puritan 
faction ;  and,  chiefly  through  the  efforts  of 
Dr.  White,  the  Bishop's  chaplain,  riots  broke 
out,  which  were  only  suppressed  by  the 
imprisonment  of  some  of  the  rioters,  and  a 
request  to  the  Court  of  High  Commission  for 
assistance.  Eventually  order  was  restored, 
and,  through  the  firmness  of  the  new  Dean, 
a  real  reform  in  the  Cathedral-church  was 
effected. 

In  the  year  1617,  James  paid  his  first  visit 
to  Scotland.  The  chief  motive  of  the  journey 
was  to  further  his  plan  of  bringing  the  religion 
of  Scothmd  into  conformity  with  that  of 
England.     He  took  witli  him  several  English 


I.AUD   AT   GLOUCESTER  45 

divines  of  learning  and   ability,  Laud    being 
one  of  the  number. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  King  seems 
to  have  realized  the  necessity  of  taking 
measures  to  repress  the  powerful  Puritan 
party  in  the  University  of  Oxford.  Ever 
since  James  had  left  his  native  land  of  Scot- 
land, and  ascended  the  English  throne,  he 
had  rebelled  against  the  Presbyterian  system : 
this  reaction  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
Church  was  intensely  monarchical ;  whilst 
Puritanism,  in  its  zeal  against  Erastianism, 
was  carried  away  in  a  republican  direction. 
James  was  no  doubt  attracted  by  the  Church's 
teaching,  but  it  was  chiefly  the  anti-monarchical 
tendencies  of  Puritanism  that  repelled  him. 
Shrewd  as  he  was,  he  discovered  in  this  system 
a  danger  which  seriously  menaced  his  dearly- 
loved  royal  prerogatives.  He  accordingly  sent 
to  the  University  certain  Royal  Injunctions  for 
the  restraining  of  rash  preachers,  and  for  the 
confining  of  divinity  studies  to  "the  Fathers 
and  Councils,  Schoolmen,  Histories  and  Con- 
troversies "  in  their  bearing  on  Holy  Scripture. 
These  Injunctions  caused  consternation  in  the 
Puritan  camp,  and  effectually  helped  to  swell 
the  tide  in  a  direction  contrary  to  that  in 
which  they  were  intended  to  lead  men. 


CHAPTER   III 

LAUD    AS    BISHOP 

LAUD,      BISHOP      OF     ST.     DAVID's ABBOT     AND 

WILLIA3IS VISIT     OF     PRINCE     CHARLES     TO 

SPAIN — ACCESSION  OF  CHARLES  I. CORONA- 
TION    OF     CHARLES      I. LAUD,      BISHOP     OF 

LONDON THE    LECTURERS RESTORATION 

AND    CONSECRATION    OF    CHURCHES. 

Whilst  comparatively  little  is  known  of  Laud 
as  parish  priest,  more  is  known  of  his  life  as 
bishop.  ^luch  of  his  history  as  a  bishop, 
however,  is  concerned  with  the  affairs  of  the 
State.  This  is  especially  noticeable  in  Heylin's 
biography,  a  great  part  of  which  reads  more 
like  a  History  of  England,  than  the  Life  of  an 
English  bishop.  It  is  a  matter  for  regret  that 
so  little  is  known  about  the  details  of  Laud's 
episcopal  life,  sucli  as,  for  instance,  the  way  he 
spent  his  days  in  tlie  different  places  where  he 
resided.  But  neither  Heylin,  nor  any  other 
contemporary  writer,  gives  us  mucli  informa- 
tion on  such  points. 

Laud  was  consecrated  Bisliop  of  St.  David's 


LAUD,  BISHOP   OF   ST.   DAVID^S         47 

on  November  18, 1621.  He  was  nominated  to 
this  see  by  King  James  I.  in  June,  the  reason 
wliy  the  consecration  was  so  long  delayed 
being  an  untoward  accident  which  concerned 
Dr.  Abbot,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
The  archbishop  was  staying  with  his  friend 
Lord  Zouch  at  Bramshill  Park,  and  was  one 
day  persuaded  to  join  a  shooting  party,  and 
also  to  take  a  crossbow.  His  complaisance  to 
his  host  ended  in  disaster.  As  Mr.  Le  Bas 
remarks,  "  his  bad  marksmanship,  though  not 
at  all  discreditable  to  his  sacred  profession,  was 
unhappily  fatal  to  one  of  the  keepers ;  for  in 
shooting  at  a  deer  it  so  chanced  that  he  missed 
the  beast  and  shot  the  man.''^  Of  course  it 
was  purely  accidental,  but  as  Abbot  happened  to 
be  Primate  of  all  England,  and  also  head  of  a 
religious  party  professing  more  than  ordinary 
strictness  of  life,  the  incident  created  a  great 
stir  at  the  time.  To  the  Puritan  party, 
especially,  the  event  appeared  as  a  scandal. 
The  foreign  universities  at  once  took  up  the 
matter  as  a  theme  of  discussion.  The  Sor- 
bonne  in  Paris,  after  three  disputations,  re- 
solved that  the  action  amounted  to  a  canonical 
irregularity ;  in  other  words,  that  the  Primate 
was  by  this  accident  incapable  of  exercising 
ecclesiastical    authority    or  jurisdiction.     'Jlie 

^  Le  BaSj  Life  of  Archbishop  Laud,  Loud.,  p.  43. 


48  LIFE    OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Archbishop  himself  felt  keenly  what  he  had 
done,  and  did  his  best  to  make  amends  by- 
pensioning  the  widow  of  the  man  whom  he 
had  killed,  and  ever  after  kept  the  anniversary 
as  a  day  of  fasting  and  penitence. 

Considerable  agitation  was  caused  through- 
out the  land,  and  much  erudition  was  expended 
upon  the  subject  both  by  civilians  and  canon- 
ists. Eventually  the  King  issued  a  Commission 
to  Bishop  Williams,  who  was  also  Lord 
Keeper,  to  the  Bishops  of  London  and  Win- 
chester, the  Bishops  Elect  of  St.  David's  and 
Exeter,  two  Judges  of  the  Common  Pleas,  and 
two  Doctors  of  the  civil  law.  At  first  the 
delegates  could  not  agree  amongst  themselves, 
but  finally  they  acquitted  the  archbishop.  It 
has  been  thought  that  several  members  of  the 
Commission  were  convinced  that  if  Abbot  had 
been  condemned,  Williams,  a  notorious  place- 
hunter  and  unworthy  of  the  post,  would  have 
got  himself  advanced  to  the  primacy.  The 
Bishops  Elect  of  St.  David's  (Laud),  Salisbury 
(Davenant),  Lincoln  (AN^ilHams),  and  Exeter 
(Carey)  scrupled  to  have  the  hands  of  even  an 
involuntary  liomicide  laid  upon  them.  They 
were  therefore  consecrated  by  the  Bishops  of 
London,  Worcester,  Chichester,  Ely,  IJandafF, 
and  Oxford  on  November  18,  1021,  in  the 
Chapel  of  London  House. 


LAUD,  BISHOP   OF   ST.  DAVID'S  49 


Land  was  not  able  to  visit  his  diocese  till 
the  middle  of  the  following  year,  being  pre- 
vented from  so  doing  by  matters  of  urgency 
concerning  the  welfare  of  Church  and  State, 
the  King,  depending  upon  his  counsels,  de- 
taining him.  On  July  5,  he  entered  Wales, 
and  four  days  later  began  his  Visitation  of  the 
diocese,  which  he  completed  by  the  middle  of 
August.  Finding  no  chapel  at  the  bishop's 
house  at  Aberguilly,  he  set  apart  a  room  for 
this  purpose,  furnishing  it  with  care  and  at 
considerable  expense.  In  1625,  he  paid 
another  visit  to  Wales,  and  consecrated  the 
chapel  on  August  28,  dedicating  it  to  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  that  day  being  the  eve  of  the  feast 
of  the  Beheading  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  He 
specially  notes  in  his  Diary  the  appropriateness 
of  the  festival  from  its  association  with  his 
beloved  college  at  Oxford. 

One  can  imagine  Laud's  arduous  and  fatigu- 
ing work  in  going  about  his  Welsh  diocese, 
assiduously  doing  his  duty  as  chief  pastor,  and 
travelling  often  by  roads  in  a  state  far  worse 
than  they  were  in  England.  In  the  pages  of 
his  Diary  we  read  how,  on  coming  to  Aber- 
guilly, the  episcopal  coach  was  twice  over- 
turned between  that  place  and  Abermarkes. 
On  the  first  occasion  it  contained  the  Bishop, 
but  on  the  second  it  was  empty,  I^aud  evi- 


50  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

dently  preferring  to  trudge  along  on  foot.^ 
Owing  to  the  neglect  of  his  predecessors, 
numberless  matters  had  to  be  investigated  and 
set  right,  abuses  to  be  reformed,  and  clergy  to 
be  interviewed.  We  may  be  certain  that 
Laud,  with  his  conscientious  nature  and  un- 
sparing activity,  did  his  best,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  of  his  inability  to  be  long  resident  in 
his  diocese. 

On  Laud's  return  to  England,  after  his  first 
journey  to  Wales,  in  the  month  of  August, 
1622,  the  King  was  forced  to  take  action  on 
account  of  the  unbridled  licence  in  the  pulpit 
of  certain  Puritan  clergy,  and  in  particular  of 
a  seditious  sermon  of  one  Knight,  of  Broad- 
gate  Hall,  Oxford.  He  accordingly  issued  six 
Injunctions,  restraining  the  parochial  clergy 
from  publicly  discussing  such  abstruse  questions 
as  Predestination,  Election,  Reprobation,  etc., 
and  enjoining  them  to  preach  rather  upon  faith 
and  holy  living.  They  were  also  enjoined  to 
avoid  meddling  with  matters  of  State,  and  "■  not 
to  fall  into  undecent  railing  speeches  against 
Papists  and  Puritans."  Lecturers  were  in 
future  to  be  licensed  by  tlie  bisliop  of  the 
diocese.  Had  the  six  Articles  of  Henry 
VIII.  been  revised  and  put  in  practice,  they 
would    not    have    created    more    commotion 

»  Laud's  Wor/c6;  Oxford,  1063  (Diary),  iii.  170. 


ABBOT   AND   WILLIAMS  51 

amongst  the  Puritan  party  than  was  caused 
by  these  Injunctions.  At  this  time  Laud 
seems  to  have  been  in  frequent  attendance 
upon  the  King,  who  had  the  wisdom  to  dis- 
cern and  to  value  both  Laud's  loyalty  to  his 
person  and  his  single-minded  zeal  for  the 
Church's  welfare.  Although  he  was  thus  in 
the  royal  favour,  his  path  was  by  no  means 
smooth.  It  was  indeed  impossible  that  one 
occupying  such  an  important  post  at  Court 
should  be  preserved  from  enemies ;  especially 
was  this  so  in  the  case  of  a  man  like  Laud, 
whose  blunt  honesty  was  not  infrequently 
devoid  of  tact.  Consequently,  we  soon  meet 
with  Laud's  adversaries  in  the  pages  of  Heylin, 
and  similar  references  occur  in  Laud's  Diary. 

Abbot  was  no  friend  to  Laud.  This  animosity 
was  an  old  story,  for  it  dated  from  Oxford  days 
when  the  young  fellow  of  St.  John's  in  his  first 
memorable  lecture  audaciously  attacked  the 
Puritan  position.  Since  that  day  Abbot  re- 
garded Laud  as  a  dangerous  man.  By  this 
time  Abbot  had  become  virtually  the  leader 
of  the  Puritan  party,  whilst  Laud  was  the 
rising  man  on  the  other  side,  so  that  Abbot's 
attitude  was  not  to  be  wondered  at. 

But  Laud  had  another  foe,  and  more  to  be 
dreaded  than  Abbot,  namely,  the  Lord  Keeper 
Williams,  who  had  lately  been  consecrated  to 


52  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

the  see  of  Lincoln.  Abbot,  it  is  true,  was  a 
Puritan  of  the  narrowest  type,  and  so  a  con- 
sistent opponent  of  Laud's  principles,  but 
there  was  a  good  side  to  his  character.  He 
seems  to  have  been  a  sincerely  honest  man,  and 
indeed  a  man  of  high  principle,  for  the  stand 
that  he  made  in  the  case  of  Lady  Essex's 
divorce  was  a  noble  one.  He  held  to  what 
was  right,  although  Kmg  James  was  against 
him.  Abbot  stood  firm  when  even  Andrewes 
fell.  He  also  resisted  King  Charles  when  he 
thought  that  monarch  violated  the  laws  of  the 
realm,  and  for  this  he  suffered. 

Williams  was  of  a  different  mould.  He  had 
not  Abbot's  high  principles.  He  was,  it  is  true, 
a  man  of  open-handed  generosity,  a  fairly  good 
diocesan  bishop  according  to  the  standard  of 
the  day,  and  a  man  of  great  ability  and  learning. 
But  there  was  another  side  to  his  character :  he 
was  de^'oid  of  principle ;  and  as  an  opponent 
he  was  quite  unscrupulous.  Bitterly  jealous  of 
the  favour  shown  by  the  Sovereign  to  Laud,  by 
every  means,  fair  or  foul,  he  tried  to  prejudice  the 
King  against  him.  As  a  self-seeker,  AVilliams 
was  notorious.  In  an  age  of  pluralities,  he  was 
reckoned  to  be  a  pliuahst  from  the  number  of 
benefices  which  he  held.  Heylin  humorously 
puts  it,  "  He  was  a  perfect  diocese  in  himself; 
as    being    Bishop,    Dean,    Prebendary,    llesi- 


ABBOT   AND   WILLIAMS  53 

dentiary  and  Parson,  and  all  these  at  once."^ 
It  did  not  suit  a  person  of  this  character  to  be 
extreme  in  either  one  direction  or  the  other. 
He  was  in  the  worst  sense  of  the  word  a 
"moderate  man,"  now  posing  as  a  staunch 
Churchman,  and  now  as  a  Puritan,  as  it  suited 
his  own  interest.  In  one  matter  Williams 
never  changed,  and  that  was  in  his  unrelenting 
hatred  of  Laud — a  hatred  that  was  all  the  more 
dangerous  because  it  was  at  times  concealed. 
The  courts  of  kings  have  ever  been  noted  for 
the  man  that  "  privily  slandereth  his  neigh- 
bour," for  "  the  deceitful  person,"  and  for  him 
"that  telleth  lies."  The  courts  of  James  and 
Charles  were  no  exception  to  this  rule,  and 
courtiers  of  this  type  were  more  dangerous 
enemies  to  Laud  than  the  outspoken  Puritan 
like  Abbot,  who  opposed  him  as  being,  in  his 
eyes,  a  Romanizer. 

It  was  at  the  court  that  Laud  was  first 
brought  into  contact  with  Buckingham,  the 
fa\'ourite  of  King  James,  a  man  whose  char- 
acter was  very  far  from  perfect.  It  was  the  old 
story,  the  spoilt  and  petted  child  of  his  mother 
became  the  selfish  and  pleasure-loving  man. 
The  friendship  that  in  time  sprang  up  between 
Laud  and  Buckingham  was  that  of  a  man  of 
mature  years  and  maturer  piety  for  a  young 

1  Heylin^  p.  80. 


54  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

man,  who  with  all  his  faults  was  not  without 
his  good  points.  It  was  in  short  the  love  of  a 
pastor  for  an  erring  sheep.  As  his  fiiend,  as 
his  adviser,  and  in  the  more  spiritual  office  of 
confessor.  Laud  drew  out  the  good  traits  in 
Buckingham's  character.  That  Buckingham 
had  times  of  sincere  penitence  we  cannot 
doubt ;  and  Laud's  influence  over  him  was 
wholly  for  good.  His  violent  death  in  1628 
was  a  heavy  blow  to  Laud,  who  felt  it  much 
in  the  same  way  as  David  felt  the  death  of 
Absalom. 

That  Buckingham  withstood  the  arguments 
of  clever  and  accomplished  Roman  contro- 
versialists, and  remained  in  the  Church  of  his 
baptism,  was  doubtless  due  to  Laud.  With 
his  mother,  the  Countess,  Laud  was  not  so 
successful.  The  result  of  the  polemical  tourna- 
ment between  Laud  and  Fisher  the  Jesuit 
(how  dear  such  contests  must  have  been  to  the 
theological  and  sport-loving  King  1)  was  that 
she  was  confirmed  in  her  faith  in  the  Anglican 
position ;  but  later,  tlirough  no  fault  of  Laud, 
she  gave  way,  and  joined  the  Roman  Com- 
munion. 

In  the  year  1623,  the  ill-fated  journey  of 
Clinrlcs,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  into  Spain  to 
win  the  liand  of  the  Infanta  took  place.  This 
scheme  of  James  I.  came  to  nought,  and  the 


VISIT   OF  PRINCE   CHARLES   TO   SPAIN    55 

Prince  eventually,  in  1625,  married  a  maiden 
whom  he  met  at  a  ball  in  Paris,  on  his  way  to 
Spain,  Henrietta  Maria,  the  daughter  of  Henry 
IV.  of  France.  It  was  a  true  love-match. 
Into  the  story  of  the  proposed  Spanish  match 
we  need  not  enter,  except  to  notice  the  extreme 
care  that  was  taken  that  the  English  Church 
should  be  fittingly  represented  at  the  Court  of 
Madrid.  Two  chaplains  were  appointed  to 
minister  to  the  Prince  and  his  suite — Drs. 
]Maw  and  Wren.  The  latter  we  know  clearly 
to  have  been  a  faithful  disciple  of  Laud,  and  a 
man  who  afterwards,  as  Bishop  of  Ely,  wit- 
nessed a  good  confession.^  Heylin  tells  us, 
"  His  Majesty  was  pleased,  by  the  advice  of 
the  Bishops  then  about  him  (of  whom  Laud 
was  one)  to  give  .  .  .  these  instructions  follow- 
ing." Here  follow  certain  detailed  injunctions, 
namely,  that  a  room  was  to  be  provided  as  a 
private  chapel  with  an  altar  furnished  with 
proper  linen,  frontals,  candlesticks,  chalices, 
patens,  and  other  things.  For  the  chaplains 
there  were  to  be  four  surplices  and  two  copes. 
The  mixed  chalice  was  to  be  in  use,  and  "smooth 
wafers  to  be  used  for  the  bread."  Daily  Mattins 
and  Evensong  were  to  be  said,  and  the  Holy 

1  He  was  afterwards  described  by  the  Puritans,  owing  to  his 
name  and  the  shortness  of  his  stature,  as,  "  the  least  of  these 
birds  and  the  foulest" — the  latter  attribute  referring  to  the 
pronounced  character  of  his  theological  views. 


56  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Eucharist  was  to  be  celebrated  as  often  "  as  it 
shall  please  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  set  down." 
No  controversial  preaching,  "  but  only  to  con- 
firm the  doctrine  and  tenets  of  the  Church  of 
England  by  all  positive  arguments.'"  Laud's 
share  in  the  drawing  up  of  the  injunctions  is 
more  than  apparent. 

Not  many  years  before,  the  King  had  sent 
four  divines  by  way  of  representing  the  Church 
of  England  on  the  Calvinist  side  at  the  Synod 
of  Dort,  almost  committing  the  Church  to  the 
support  of  Calvinism.  Now,  however,  there 
was  a  complete  change :  by  the  advice  of  the 
bishops,  the  Church  was  represented  as  a  part 
of  the  Catholic  Church,  rather  than  as  a 
Protestant  sect. 

In  1024,  when  the  negotiations  with  Spain 
were  broken  off.  Convocation  granted  a  large 
subsidy  to  the  King,  to  be  levied  from  the 
clergy.  On  this  occasion,  Laud,  who  had 
been  a  parish  priest  himself,  perceiving  how 
heavily  the  tax  would  press  upon  the  parochial 
clergy,  manfully  espoused  their  cause.  He 
devised  a  plan  for  bringing  relief,  which  met 
with  the  approval  of  Buckingham,  and  even 
Williams.  Strangely  enough,  this  proposal 
was  resented  by  Abbot,  who  liad  ne\'er  been  a 
parish  priest. 

^  Heylin,  j).  100. 


ACCESSION   OF  CHARLES   I.  57 

The  year  1625  witnessed  the  death  of 
James  I.,  and  the  accession  of  Charles  I.,  who 
favoured  the  Church  even  more  than  his  father 
had  done.  With  Charles,  devotion  to  the 
Church  was  inspired  by  no  mere  political 
motives,  but  by  genuine  -religious  convictions. 
It  is  not  for  us  in  these  pages  to  criticize  the 
character  of  Charles  as  a  monarch.  He  had 
his  faults,  which  have  as  a  rule  been  unduly 
emphasized.  He  was  firm  where  he  ought  to 
have  been  gentle,  and  gentle  where  he  ought 
to  have  been  firm ;  and,  urged  by  terrible 
provocation,  he  broke  his  faith  on  more  than 
one  occasion.  Above  all  there  was  his  false 
step  in  consenting  to  the  condemnation  of  the 
Earl  of  Strafford.  But  the  other  side  of  his 
character, — who  can  help  admiring  it  ?  The 
fascination  that  he  exercised  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at.  A  man  of  princely  bearing  and 
manners,  brave,  manly,  pure  in  heart  and  life, 
a  patron  of  art  and  science,  a  theologian  of  no 
mean  repute,  a  kind  friend,  a  devoted  husband, 
a  loving  father, — such  were  some  of  the  virtues 
of  the  new  king.  He  was,  moreover,  a  man 
of  deep  personal  religion — what  else  could 
have  sustained  him  in  his  sufferings  ? — a  loyal 
son  of  the  Church,  a  firm  believer  in  her 
doctrines,  and  a  faithful  observer  of  her  prac- 
tices.    One  loves   to   think   of    those    happy 


\ 


58  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

days  he  spent  at  Hampton  Court  in  the 
company  of  his  wife,  whom  he  almost  idohzed, 
and  of  his  children  to  whom  he  was  fondly 
attached.  What  an  example  the  private  life 
of  this  king  must  have  been  to  the  nation  at 
large  I  It  elevated  and  purified  home-life  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  just  as  the  example 
of  Queen  Victoria  did  in  the  nineteenth.  But 
the  attraction  of  Charles  I.  reached  its  culmin- 
ating point  in  his  loneliness  at  Carisbrooke, 
and  in  his  martyr-death  at  Whitehall ;  so  that 
notwithstanding  the  army  of  detractors  of 
King  Charles,  there  are  those  to-day  who  still 
echo  the  undying  words  of  John  Keble,  "  Our 
own,  our  royal  saint." 

That  William  Laud,  the  devoted  champion 
of  the  Church,  the  reformer  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  word,  should  have  become  the  trusted 
friend  of  Charles  I.  is  only  natural.  In 
matters  of  religion  their  opinions  seem  to  have 
been  very  similar.  Laud's  influence  with  the 
King  soon  manifested  itself  in  his  being  com- 
manded to  supply  him  with  a  list  of  the 
leading  ecclesiastics  of  the  day,  with  *'  O,"  or 
"P,"  i.e..,  Orthodox  or  Puritan,  against  their 
names,  so  that  the  King  might  be  guided  in 
dispensing  Church-patronage.^ 

The  day  after  the  assembhng  of  Charles'  first 
1  Hcylin,  p.  127. 


ACCESSION  OF  CHARLES  I.  59 

Parliament,  Laud  preached  before  the  King 
and  the  House  of  Lords  at  Whitehall.     In  his 
sermon  he  set  forth  the  respective  duties  of 
the  Church  and  the  State.     He  animadverted 
upon  the   ultimate   political   designs    of    the 
Puritan  party.     The  Commons  in  this  Parlia- 
ment took  upon  themselves  the  role  of  being 
theological  experts  and  inquisitors,  and  forth- 
with proceeded  to  summon  to  their  bar  Richard 
Montague,  rector  of  Stanford  Rivers,  for  writ- 
ing books  containing  what  they  judged  to  be 
Popish  doctrine.     This  clergyman  was  annoyed 
by  the  proselytizing  of  certain  Jesuits  in  his 
parish,  one  of  whom  endeavoured  to  discredit 
the   theology   of   the   English   Church   by   a 
pamphlet  called  A  Gag  for  the  New  Gospel. 
JNIontague  answered  this  by  A  New  Gag  for 
an  Old  Goose.     In  this  work  Montague  took 
a   strong  line,   and  claimed  for  the    English 
Church  its  Catholic  position,  appealing  with 
marked  success  to  the  Church  of  the  early 
centuries.     Possessed  of  considerable  learning, 
in  order  that  his  writings  might  appeal  to  the 
people,  he  adopted  a  racy  and  caustic  style. 
This  had  the  effect  of  calling  attention  to  his 
statements.     After    the    first    commotion    in 
Parliament  over  the   matter,  he  published  a 
second    work,   Apello    Ccesarem,    which   was 
written    from  the   same    anti-Puritan   stand- 


60  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

point.  This  added  fuel  to  the  flames.  The 
interference  of  a  lay-assembly  in  matters 
distinctly  spiritual  was  warmly  resented  by 
Laud  and  other  prelates,  who  were  backed  up 
by  the  King.  Accordingly,  the  bishops  framed 
a  letter  addressed  to  the  Commons,  protesting 
against  a  purely  lay-tribunal  deciding  theolo- 
gical questions,  and  defending  Montague  as  a 
divine  "  able  in  every  way  to  do  great  services 
to  God,  his  JNIajesty  and  the  Church  of 
England." 

On  February  2,  the  Feast  of  the  Purifica- 
tion, in  the  following  year,  the  Coronation 
took  place  in  the  Abbey  Church  of  West- 
minster. Laud  was  chosen  by  Charles  to 
arrange  the  ceremonial  on  that  great  occasion. 
From  his  Diary  we  learn  of  his  care  that 
everything  should  be  carried  out  with  order 
and  reverence.  This  Coronation  is  historically 
important,  in  that  it  was,  with  the  exception  of 
the  hastily  compiled  form  used  in  the  Corona- 
tion of  James  I.,  the  first  occasion  when  the 
So\'^ereign  was  crowned  witli  the  English  Rite. 
For  this  occasion  the  old  I^atin  Service  was 
revised  by  the  Archbishop  and  a  committee  of 
15ishops.'  I^aud  is  said  to  have  caused  an 
ancient  silver  crucifix  to  be  placed  on  the  altar 
for  the  service,  but  there  seems  to  be  some 

»  Ilultoii,  p.  -28. 


CORONATION   OF   CHARLES   I.  61 

doubt  as  to  this.  Dr.  Abbot,  the  Primate, 
would  hardly  have  tolerated  such  an  "image," 
and  when  Laud  at  his  trial  was  accused  of  this 
matter,  he  referred  to  the  unlikelihood  of 
Abbot  allowing  it,  and  said  that  he  himself 
did  not  remember  a  crucifix  being  there.  ^ 
Heylin,  however,  definitely  mentions  it.  ^  Laud 
was  afterwards  falsely  charged  with  altering 
the  Coronation  oath.^  The  whole  ceremony 
of  the  Coronation  was  carried  out  with  the 
greatest  solemnity.*  Soon  after  the  Coronation 
the  King's  Second  Parliament  met,  and  we 
find  Laud  again  preaching,  but  this  time  in 
the  Abbey.  His  subject  was  the  Blessedness 
of  Unity  in  both  Church  and  State.  In  this 
parliament  another  attack  was  made  upon 
Montague,  and  he  was  again  defended  by 
Laud  and  other  bishops.  In  August  in 
this  year,  Laud  was  translated  to  the  see  of 
Bath  and  Wells,  and  in  September  he  was 
appointed  Dean  of  the  Chapel  Royal.  One  of 
his  first  actions  as  dean  was  to  put  a  stop  to 
the  practice  of  concluding  the  service  if  the 
King  came  in  late,  and  going  on  to  the  sermon. 
When  this  resolution  was  reported  to  the 
King,  he  received  it  with  thanks,  and  acted 
accordingly. 

1  Laud's  Works,  Oxford,  1856,  iv.  211.  -  Heylin,  p.  138. 

^  See  this  fully  discussed  in  Le  Bas,  pp.  82-84. 
^  Ibid.  (Diary),  iii.  181. 


62  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

Shortly  after,  a  storm  was  raised  by  a 
sermon  preached  by  Sibthorpe,  Vicar  of 
Brackley,  who  was  somewhat  of  a  "poHtical 
parson,"  in  which  he  maintained  that  the  King 
jure  divino  had  power  to  make  laws  and 
impose  taxes.  Pressure  was  brought  upon 
Abbot  to  give  his  iniprimatur  to  this  ser- 
mon, but  he  conscientiously  declined,  saying 
that  such  doctrine  was  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  the  realm.  On  this  Laud  and  other 
bishops  toned  down  certain  passages,  and  again 
submitted  it  to  the  Archbishop,  but  a  second 
time  he  honourably  refused  to  comply.^  In 
such  a  matter  every  one  in  these  days  will 
approve  of  the  course  taken  by  Abbot,  rather 
than  that  taken  by  Laud,  who,  however,  did 
not  go  all  the  way  with  the  sentiments  of 
Sibthorpe,  since  a  sermon  of  the  same  kind 
preached  by  JNIainwaring,  Rector  of  St.  Giles, 
was  not  licensed  by  him,  but  by  JNIontaigne, 
Bishop  of  London,  and  Laud  is  said  to  have 
remonstrated  against  its  being  printed."  Ser- 
mons inculcating  extreme  vieMs  upon  the 
rights  of  the  monarchy  were  likewise  preached 
by  Bargrave,  Dean  of  Canterbury,  and  by 
Wren,  Master  of  St.  Peter's  College,  Cam- 
bridge.    These  divines  were  of  the  school  of 

1  Lo  Has,  pp.  103-lOG. 

a  Wakemaii,  The  Church  and  the  Pnritam,  Loud.  1002,  p.  IIG. 


LAUD,  BISHOP  OF   LONDON  63 

Laud,  and  this  shows  how  wedded  the  Laudian 
movement  was  to  absolutist  views  which  event- 
ually did  so  much  harm  to  the  Church's  cause. 
Through  the  influence,  it  is  believed,  of  Buck- 
ingham, the  courageous  Archbishop  was  for  a 
time  banished  from  the  Court  on  account  of 
his  action. 

In  the  year  1628,  Laud  was  translated  to 
the  see  of  London ;  this  brought  him  into 
more  immediate  contact  with  the  great  events 
of  the  day  both  ecclesiastical  and  civil.  One 
of  his  first  actions  as  Bishop  of  London  was  to 
assist  at  the  consecration  of  Dr.  Richard  INIon- 
tague  to  the  see  of  Chichester.  The  policy  of 
the  King  in  nominating  to  a  bishopric  one 
who,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Puritans,  was  an  evil- 
doer, was,  to  say  the  least,  exceedingly  bold. 
Montague,  as  a  learned  and  spirited  contro- 
versialist, and  a  defender  of  the  Church  against 
both  Rome  and  Geneva,  doubtless  well  de- 
served the  reward ;  but  to  single  out  for 
promotion  the  very  man  whom  the  House  of 
Commons  had  twice  condemned,  was  assuredly 
to  be  taken  as  an  act  of  retaliation.  During 
the  reigns  of  James  I.  and  Charles  I.,  the 
House  of  Commons  had  set  itself  up  as  a 
kind  of  Puritan  Holy  Office,  dictating  to 
the  sovereign  the  religious  policy  he  was  to 
pursue  ;  it  likewise  instructed  bishops  how  they 


64  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

were  to  act,  denounced  books,  and  censured 
their  authors.  In  short,  in  matters  of  doctrine 
and  disciphne,  it  constituted  itself  a  sort  of 
infaUible  pope,  who  moreover  always  spoke 
ex  cathedra  /  Now  the  Commons  had  the 
mortification  of  seeing  the  very  man,  who  had 
twice  escaped  their  chitches,  dehberately  ad- 
vanced to  the  see  of  Chichester. 

The   most   important   event   that   followed 
upon    Laud's    appointment    to    the    see     of 
London  was  the  Royal  Declaration  prefixed 
to   the   XXXIX.  Articles   in   1629,   for   the 
purpose  of  guarding  them  from  misinterpreta- 
tion.    It  may  be  described  as  part  of  a  series 
of  entrenchments  constructed   to  defend   the 
Church  from  the  onslaught  of  the  now  active 
and  militant  Puritan  faction,  who  at  this  time 
realized  the  gathering  strength  of  the  Church 
party.     The  XXXIX.  Articles  of  lleligion, 
issued  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  were  Articles 
of  comprehension.      They  were   set  forth  in 
the    hopes    of    uniting    the    Edwardian    and 
the    Marian   conforming  clergy.      They  were 
not  articles  of  faith,  (though  some  of  tliem 
contained  wluit  is  of  faitli)  but  "Articles  of 
lleligion,"    issued    with   the   object    of    com- 
prehending   in    one    religious    body    men    of 
different    scliools    of   tliouglit ;    consequently 
their  wording  is  ollcn  intcntiojially   ambigu- 


LAUD,  BISHOP   OF  LONDON  65 

ous.  It  has  been  accurately  said,  that  they 
are  "  not  a  creed,  but  a  concordat  affording  a 
basis  of  intercommunion  for  persons  to  whose 
minds  divine  truth  presented  itself  under 
different  forms  and  aspects."  ^  How  far  such 
a  course  was  justifiable  and  its  wisdom  has 
been  proved  by  subsequent  events,  is  a  subject 
upon  which  we  cannot  now  enter.  The 
dominant  ultra-Protestant  or  Puritan  party 
m  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  and  James  had 
attempted,  so  to  speak,  "to  capture"  the 
Articles ;  and  this  party  taught  positively, 
that  the  Articles  were  a  confession  of  Faith, 
definitely  and  wholly  Calvinistic.  The  Declar- 
ation required  subscription  to  the  Articles 
"  only  in  the  natural  and  grammatical  sense," 
and  in  so  doing  left  a  wide  and  generous 
liberty.  In  this  way  the  original  intention  of 
the  compilers  of  the  Articles  was  preserved — 
that  they  should  be  regarded  as  Articles  of 
comprehension.  The  anger  of  the  Puritan 
party  at  the  Declaration  was  unbounded. 
The  air  rang  with  denunciations  against  the 
Arminians,^  as  those  opposed  to  Calvinism 
were  then  called.  "An  Arminian  is  the 
spawn  of  a  Papist ;  and  if  there  come  warmth 

1  Maccoll,  The,  Reformation  Settlement,  Loud.  1895,  p.  132. 

2  So  called  from  Anninius,  the  great  opponent  of  Calvinism  at 
the  Synod  of  Dort, 

5 


66  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

of  favour  upon  him  you  shall  see  him  turn 
into  one  of  those  frogs  that  rise  out  of  the 
bottomless  pit.  And  if  you  mark  it  well,  you 
shall  see  an  Arminian  reaching  out  his  hand 
to  a  Papist,  a  Papist  to  a  Jesuit,  and  a  Jesuit 
gives  one  hand  to  the  Pope  and  another  to  the 
King  of  Spain," — so  exclaimed  Routh,  who, 
under  Cromwell,  became  afterwards  Speaker 
in  the  House  of  Commons.^  The  Commons 
proceeded  to  issue  a  protest  against  thus  free- 
ing the  Articles  fi*om  a  Calvinistic  interpreta- 
tion. The  Declaration  was  pronounced  to  be 
a  plot  of  the  Jesuits  to  subvert  the  Gospel ; 
and  in  order  to  give  colour  to  this  opinion,  a 
bogus  letter  was  compiled  and  disseminated, 
purporting  to  be  ^\Titten  by  the  Hector  of  the 
Jesuits  at  Brussels,  commending  the  Declar- 
ation and  approving  of  it  as  a  means  of 
undermining  the  Reformed  Faith  !  ^ 

Shortly  after  this  Laud  directed  his  attention 
to  an  important  matter  of  reform.  Tlu'ough 
liis  influence  the  King  ordered  Abbot  the 
Arclibishop  to  issue  certain  "Instructions" 
enjoining  tlie  bishops  to  reside  in  their  sees, 
instead  of  li\'ing  at  AVestminstcr  as  many  of 
them  did,  "  tliose  only  excepted  whose  attend- 
ances at  Court  is  necessarily  required."  It  is 
true  that   Laud,  wlicn  bishop  of  St.    David's 

'  Le  lias,  p.  125.  "  Ilcyliu,  i>.  179. 


THE  LECTURERS  67 

and  of  Bath  and  A¥ells,  had  not  spent  much 
time   in   his  dioceses ;    but  then  it   must   be 
remembered  that,  according  to  the  evil  custom 
of   the   age,    he   had    the   excuse    of   Court- 
business  ;    and  when  he  did  visit  his  diocese, 
he  did  as  much  in  a  month  as  most  of  the 
other  bishops  would  have  done  in  a  year.     In 
these  "  Instructions "  there  were  also  regula- 
tions as  to   Chaplains  and  Lecturers.     None 
but  noblemen  and  those  qualified  by  law  were 
permitted  to  have  domestic  chaplains.     Many 
Puritan  squires  kept  "  tame   Levites  "  in  the 
shape  of  chaplains,  who  under  the  protection 
of  their  master  were  often  thorns  in  the  sides 
of  the  parochial  clergy.     The  Lecturers  were 
enjoined   to    read    the    Church-service    before 
their  lectures,  and  to  wear  the  surplice.    These 
men  were  to  a  large  extent  the  backbone  of 
the    Puritan    party.      JNlany    of    them    were 
ecclesiastical  fi*ee-lances,  who  had  no  respect 
for  the  laws  of  the  Church  as  to  jurisdiction 
and  mission.      Of  Lecturers,  in  general,  there 
seem   to   have   been   at    least    two   varieties. 
There    were  first  the    "stationary   lecturers," 
whose    ministrations   were   supplementary   to 
those  of  the  parish  priest.     They  sprang  into 
existence  soon  after  the  Reformation,  owing 
to  the  inability  of  many  of  the  clergy  to  preach. 
There  were  also  the  "  running  lecturers,"  men 


68  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

who  bore  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  the  friars 
of  old,  in  that  they  invaded  parishes  and  took 
little  heed  to  the  rights  of  the  parochial  clergy, 
being  subject  to  the  Puritan  party,  just  as  the 
friars  were  to  the  Pope.  These  peripatetic 
Lecturers  were  the  most  fanatical,  and  they 
struck  the  hardest  blows  at  the  Church- 
system. 

To  support  this  large  force  of  Lecturers, 
or  "  painful  ministers "  as  they  were  called, 
required  a  considerable  outlay ;  and  the  ex- 
pedient was  hit  upon  of  constituting  a  trust 

'*  called  the  Collectors  of  St.  Antholin's.  This 
trust  consisted  of  four  ministers,  four  lawyers, 

\  and  four  citizens,  all  of  them  pronounced 
Puritans ;  and  it  had  for  its  object  the  buying 
up  of  impropriated  tithes,  which  were  applied 
to  the  support  of  the  Lecturers.  In  this  way 
a  large  body  of  men  were  maintained  in  the 
pay  of  the  trust,  which  possessed  complete 
control  over  them.  These  spiritual  mercen- 
aries penetrated  far  and  wide  through  the  land, 
carrying  with  them  the  gospel  of  Puritanism, 
political  as  well  as  religious.  The  system 
was  contrived  with  remarkable  skill  and  fore- 
thought, and  was  quietly  working  beneath 
the  surface,  when  the  conspiracy  was  exposed 
by  Heylin  in  a  sermon  before  the  University 
of    Oxford,    based   on    the   appropriate    text, 


THE    LECTURERS  69 

"  While  men  slept,  the  enemy  came  and  sowed 
tares  amongst  the  wheat,  and  went  his  way." 
The  exposure  caused  immense  excitement,  and 
the  magnitude  of  the  conspiracy  at  once  became 
apparent. 

Through  the  influence  of  Laud,  the  entire  \ 
scheme  was  submitted  to  Noye,  the  Attorney-  "] 
General,  who  brought  it  before  the  Court  of  / 
Exchequer.     This    court   gave   judgment    in  / 
February  1G33  against  the  trust  of  feoffment,  S 
which  was  overthrown,  and  the  impropriations 
of  the  feoffees  were  confiscated  to  the  Crown.v 
The  criminal  part  of  the  charge  was  referred 
to  the  Star  Chamber,  but  it  was  never  prose- 
cuted further.     Thus  a  deep-laid  and  insidious 
plot   for   the   overthrow  of   the    Church  was 
nipped  in  the  bud.     Of  the  feoffees.  Laud  says 
in  his  Diary,  "  they  were  the  main  instruments 
for  the  Puritan  faction  to  undo  the  Church."  ^ 

In  the  year  1630,  Laud  was  made  Chancellor 
of  the  University  of  Oxford :  to  this  we  shall 
refer  in  detail  later. 

It  was  during  the  time  when  Laud  was 
Bishop  of  London,  that  the  celebrated  prose- 
cution of  Leighton  took  place.  Alexander 
Leighton,  a  Scotch  preacher,  wrote  a  book 
entitled,  Zions  plea  against  Prelates,  in  which 
he  counselled  the  "  godly  "  to  slay  the  bishops, 

1  Laud's   Works  (Diary),  iii.  216. 


70  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

and  ^denounced  the  Queen  as  an  "  idolatress 
and  a  Canaanitess  " — it  was  a  vulgar  and  rabid 
work.  For  this  Leighton  was  punished  by  the 
Star  Chamber  A\ath  a  fine  of  £10,000,  and  the 
severest  corporal  chastisement, — an  instance  of 
the  inhumanity  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
It  was  also  during  Laud's  occupancy  of  the 
see  of  London  that  Henry  Sherfield,  Recorder 
of  Salisbury,  was  summoned  before  the  Star 
Chamber  for  breaking,  in  St.  Edmund's  church, 
a  painted  window,  which  offended  him  as  being, 
in  his  opinion,  superstitious.  For  this,  he  was 
deprived  of  his  Recordership,  fined  £l,000, 
and  made  to  confess  his  ftuilt  in  the  Cathedral, 
as  well  as  in  St.  Edmund's  church.  This 
severe  sentence,  owing  to  the  culprit  being  an 
important  man,  made  a  great  sensation  at  the 
time ;  and,  like  many  other  actions  of  this 
Coiu't,  the  fjiult  was  laid  to  Laud's  charge. 
To  blame  him  for  the  severity  of  such  punish- 
ments, as  has  been  done  in  later  times,  is 
unjust ;  for  we  know  that  at  his  trial,  when 
the  whole  coimtry  was  ransacked  to  produce 
evidence  against  him,  the  case  for  instance  of 
Leighton  was  not  even  mentioned.  The  story 
of  Laud  pulhng  off  his  cap  on  Leighton  being 
condemned,  thanking  God  for  the  sentence,  is 
apocryphal,    and   was    originated    by    a   men- 


RESTORATION   OF  CHURCHES  71 

dacious    and    anonymous   pamphleteer   many 
years  after/ 

The  event  most  closely  connected  with 
Laud's  occupancy  of  the  see  of  London  is, 
perhaps,  the  effort  that  he  made  to  restore  the 
great  Gothic  metropolitan  church  of  St.  Paul. 
In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  the  ravages  caused 
by  the  fire  of  1561  were  partially  repaired. 
Under  the  indolent  rule  of  Montaigne,  Laud's 
predecessor  in  the  see  of  London,  little  seems 
to  have  been  done  to  carry  on  this  work. 
But  Laud,  with  characteristic  zeal  and  energy, 
threw  himself  into  the  plan  of  restoration. 
He  not  only  interested  the  King  in  the  work, 
but  he  also  succeeded  in  arousing  the  interest 
of  men  of  position  and  wealth,  with  the  result 
that,  by  tlie  year  1040,  £100,000,  a  large  sum 
for  those  days,  had  been  expended  upon  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral. 

The  picture  of  the  ancient  Gothic  Cathedral 
with  the  Grecian  Portico  added  on  to  it — the 
work  of  Inigo  Jones,  the  first  architect  of  the 
day — is  familiar  to  many.  It  is  easy  enough 
to  criticize  the  violent  contrast  between  the  old 
work  and  the  new  ;  but,  in  considering  the  life 
of  William  Laud  and  his  work  in  restoring  St. 
Paul's,  we  must  remember  the  great  moral  and 

1  Le  Bas,  pp.  142,  143. 


72  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM  LAUD 

spiritual  restoration  he  effected  in  the  Cathedral, 
whereby  the  profanities  of  "  Paul's  Walk ' 
were  transferred  from  the  interior  to  the 
portico,  and  thus  the  church  was  rescued  from 
irreverence.  We  may  well  refer  to  the  opinion 
of  an  authority  upon  architecture,  who  alludes 
to  the  "magnificent  western  portico,  which 
must  assuredly  have  been  the  most  beautiful 
of  its  kind  in  England."^ 

When  Laud  was  Bishop  of  London,  he 
excited  Puritanical  wrath  by  consecrating 
churches  in  the  diocese.  During  the  turmoil 
of  the  Reformation  period,  no  translation  or 
revision  of  the  services  of  consecration  in  the 
old  Pontificals  was  put  forth.  This  was  owing, 
no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that  it  was  then  the 
fashion  to  pull  down  rather  than  to  build 
churches,  and  also  because  the  "  reformers " 
looked  upon  churches  as  preaching-houses, 
rather  than  as  houses  of  prayer,  and  they 
had  little  reverence  for  lioly  places  and  things. 
But  when  the  tide  began  to  turn,  Bishop 
Andrewes  put  forth  a  form  of  ser\  ice,  which 
he  used  in  his  own  diocese.  'J'liis  form  was 
adopted  by  Laud  with  some  alterations,  and 
on  one  occasion  in  particular,  the  consecra- 
tion of  St.  Catlicrine  Cree,  with  considerable 
ceremonial  ehiboration.     The  consecration  of 

'  LoftiCj  Iniijo  Jones  and  Wren,  Load.  1893^  p.  131. 


CONSECRATION  OF  CHURCHES  73 

churches  being  not  only  against  Puritan  prin- 
ciples, but  also  in  those  days  an  innovation,  the 
opposition  of  the  I'uritans  was  at  once  aroused 
— in  their  eyes  the  Bishop  of  London  was 
marching  in  a  Romeward  direction  !  In  the 
year  1633,  the  King  made  his  first  visit  to 
Scotland,  accompanied  by  Laud.  On  June  10, 
Charles  entered  Edinburgh,  and  eight  days 
later  he  was  solemnly  crowned  in  Holyrood 
chapel.  After  a  stay  of  less  than  a  month  in 
Scotland,  Laud  returned  home  to  his  epis- 
copal house  at  Fulham.  This  visit  to  Scotland, 
and  the  events  connected  with  it,  will  be  more 
fully  treated  later  in  the  chapter  on  "  Laud 
and  the  Scottish  Church." 


CHAPTER  IV 

LAUD  AS   PRIMATE 

LAUD,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CANTERBURY — MORAL 
REFORM SUNDAY  OBSERVANCE METRO- 
POLITICAL  VISITATION FOREIGN  PROTEST- 
ANTS       IN        ENGLAND    ECCLESIASTICAL 

REFORM — THE  STAR  CHAMBER THE   COURT 

OF   HIGH   COMMISSION 

A  WRITER  in  the  Clmrch  Quarterly  Review'^ 
tersely  describes  Laud's  accession  to  the 
primacy  by  saying,  "  Laud  became  actually 
what  he  had  long  been  virtually.  Primate  of 
all  Enfjland."  Since  the  accession  of  Charles  I., 
it  may  be  said  that  the  chief  ruler  of  the  Church 
was  William  Laud.  After  the  accident  in 
Bramshill  Park,  Abbot  lay  more  or  less  under 
a  cloud  ;  and,  moreover,  his  Puritanism  was  not 
acceptable  to  the  King,  while  Laud  was  not 
only  his  personal  friend,  but  also  one  in  heart 
with  him  in  matters  religious  and  ecclesiastical. 
On  August  4,  1();3;3,  Abbot  died,  and  two 

1  1895,  No.  80,  p.  271. 

7't 


LAUD,   ARCHBISHOP   OF  CANTERBURY    75 

days  later  King  Charles  is  said  to  have  greeted 
Laud  with  the  courtly  speech,  "  INIy  Lord's 
Grace  of  Canterbury,  you  are  very  welcome." 
On  August  23,  he  was  formally  elected,  and 
in  September,  he  was  translated.  Laud  was 
now  actual  Primate  of  all  England,  and  a  new 
chapter  in  his  life  began.  Although  there 
would  be  no  change  of  policy,  since,  as  we 
have  noticed  the  Laudian  regime  had  already 
for  several  years  been  in  force,  yet  the  trans- 
ition from  George  Abbot  to  William  Laud 
was  remarkable  enough. 

Abbot  was  the  personification  of  Puritan- 
ism, the  lineal  theological  descendant  of  the 
Edwardian  divines.  He  drew  his  inspiration 
from  Calvin  and  Zwingli ;  although,  by  the 
seventeenth  century,  continental  Protestantism 
was  successfully  acclimatised  on  English  soil. 
At  Oxford,  as  Vice- Chancellor,  and  Master  of 
University  College,  his  power  was  great,  and 
he  was  generally  recognized  as  a  leader  of  the 
Puritan  party,  a  position  which  he  held  to  the 
day  of  his  death.  Under  James  I.  his  influence 
as  archbishop  was  considerable,  but  the  accident 
in  the  deer-park  and  the  rise  of  Laud  were  the 
means  of  throwing  him  into  the  background. 
Still  he  was  to  the  last  a  power  to  be  reckoned 
with,  a  pillar  of  the  Calvinian  faction.  Heylin 
tells  the  following  anecdote  concerning  Abbot : 


76  LIFE   OF  WILLIAIM   LAUD 

It  is  related  by  a  late  Writer,  Tliat  towards  his  death 
he  was  not  only  discontented  himself,  but  that  his 
house  was  the  Rendezvous  of  all  the  Mal-contents 
in  Church  and  State,  that  he  turned  Mid-night  to 
Noon-day  by  constant  keeping  of  Candles  lighted  in 
his  Chamber  and  Study  ;  as  also  that  such  Visitants 
as  repaired  unto  him  called  themselves  Nicodemites, 
because  of  their  secret  coming  to  him  by  night.^ 

Heylin  also  alludes  to  Abbot's  open  toler- 
ation of  Puritan  nonconformity  to  the  Church's 
laws,  to  his  promotion  of  divines  who  were 
"  Calvinians  "  ;  and  he  notices  how  this  Puritan 
Primate  "  favoured  the  Laity  above  the  Clei^gie 
in  all  cases  which  were  brought  before  him," — 
an  episcopal  weakness  not  unknown  in  more 
recent  days.  That  Abbot  was  an  avowed 
opponent  of  Laud  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
since  tlie  cause  that  Laud  had  at  heart  was 
that  to  which  he  was  honestly  opposed. 

In  the  person  of  Laud,  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land had  a  primate  of  a  very  different  mould. 
Instead  of  being  the  favourer  of  Puritanism, 
the  new  archbishop  was  its  strenuous  opponent ; 
instead  of  tolerating  the  defiance  of  the  Church's 
laws,  he  spared  no  pains  to  enforce  conform- 
ity ;  instead  of  promoting  Puritan  divines, 
he  favoured  those  who  were  loyal  to  the 
Church ;  instead  of  playing  into  the  hands  of 
the  laity,  he  boldly  defended  the  clerical  order 

1  Heylin,  pp.  229,  230. 


LAUD,   ARCHBISHOP   OF   CANTERBURY     77 

against  lay  oppression.  In  blamelessness  of 
life  and  conversation,  it  may  be  said  with 
truth  tliat  the  two  men  were  alike  exemplary. 
Abbot,  like  I^aud,  followed  principle  rather 
than  a  policy  of  expediency.  The  office  of 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Primate  of  all 
England  in  the  year  1G33,  was  no  bed  of  roses. 
Laud  spoke  but  the  truth  when  he  exclaimed 
in  his  Diary — "  INIethinks  I  see  a  cloud  arising 
and  threatening  the  Church  of  England."  ^  This . 
was  in  the  year  1625,  during  the  disputes  in 
Parliament  about  Richard  Montague :  eight 
years  later,  the  cloud  had  become  much  darker. 
The  war  between  the  Parliament  and  the  King 
may  be  said  to  have  begun,  so  far  at  least  as 
words  were  concerned.  It  is  true  that  during 
these  eight  years  the  Church  had  been  steadily 
growing  in  power,  for  the  Laudian  reformation 
was  making  itself  felt,  and  the  evils  of  the 
Edwardian  and  Elizabethan  times  were  being 
remedied.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  Puritanism 
had  also  been  concentrating  and  disciplining 
its  forces,  and  consolidating  its  system.  The 
gulf  between  the  two  rival  camps  was  widen- 
ing. To  an  extent,  of  which  in  these  days  we  ; 
have  little  conception,  Puritanism  had  become 
synonymous  with  the  popular  cause ;  whilst 
the  Church  seemed  indissolubly  coimected  with 

1  Laud's  Works  (Diary),  iii.  180. 


78  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

( the   monarchy   and    absolutism.      Matters   in 
Church  and  State  were  then  much  more  closely 
connected  than  they  are  in  our  own  time.     On 
this  battlefield  it  was  that  William  Laud  was 
called   to   the   post   of  leading  the   Church's 
legions ;  and,  with  signs  of  coming  strife,  the 
results  of  which  threatened  to  be  momentous, 
the  position  of  leader  was  not  one  for  com- 
placent satisfaction  and  exultation. 
^       Besides    the    new    Archbishop's    campaign 
against  Puritanism,  he  undertook  the  applica- 
tion of  the  Church's  discipline,  which  from  the 
Christian  standpoint  may  be  called  a  reforma- 
tion of  morals.    Like  St.  John  Baptist,  boldly  to 
rebuke  vice,  is  a  sure  passport  to  the  hatred  of 
those  whose  vices  are  rebuked ;  and  still  more 
is  this  the  case,  when  punishment  is  inflicted 
upon  the  wrong-doers.     Laud  was  not  a  man 
to  shrink  from  consequences  ;  no  wonder,  then, 
that  he  was  hated  with  a  bitter  hatred.    JMore- 
over,  in  the  eyes  and  at  the  hands  of  I^aud, 
there  was  no  respect  of  persons ;  the  highest 
in   the   land  felt  the  power  of  the    Church's 
discipline,  as  much  as  the  lowest.     JMost  men, 
who,  like   I^aud   had   almost   risen   from   the 
ranks  to  a  position  second  only  to  the  royal 
family,  would  not  hiive  been  proof  against  the 
subtle  fascination  of  high  social  position.    Such 
men  would  discreetly  have  whikcd  at  the  vices 


MORAL   REFORM  79 

of  the  wealthy  and  powerful,  and  would  never 
have  dreamt  of  aggressively  attacking  them : 
but  Laud  acted  like  the  Baptist,  and  he 
suffered  for  it. 

The  high-born  adulterers  and  profligates, 
who  suffered  thus  the  due  reward  of  their 
evil  deeds,  made  common  cause  with  the 
Puritans  in  their  hatred  of  the  man  who  en- 
forced the  Christian  moral  law ;  and  this 
added  to  the  difficulties  with  which  Laud 
was  surrounded.  Amongst  others,  there  is 
the  well-known  case  of  Lady  Purbeck,  who 
was  condemned  by  the  Court  of  High  Com- 
mission for  living  in  open  sin  with  Sir  Robert 
Howard.  The  Court  issued  an  order  for  a 
separation,  and  condemned  her  to  a  public 
penance.  She  evaded  the  penance,  and  was 
imprisoned ;  but  she  escaped  through  the  help 
of  her  paramour.  It  is  a  curious  comment 
on  the  much  vaunted  morality  of  Puritanism, 
that  afterwards  Laud  at  his  trial  was  ordered 
to  pay  Sir  Robert  £500  as  a  compensation 
for  false  imprisonment ! 

So  impartial  a  writer  as  Dr.  Gardiner  has 
stated  that,  "  in  questions  relating  to  marriage, 
the  Court  struggled  against  every  kind  of 
opposition  to  uphold  a  standard  of  a  high 
morality;'"    and   Mr.   Hutton  observes  that, 

1  Hutton_,  p.  102. 


80  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

although  the  treatment  by  the  Court  of  High 
Commission  was  severe,  yet  it  was  no  more  so 
than  the  necessity  of  the  times  demanded,  and 
he  continues :  "Its  conscientious  and  courage- 
ous defence  of  the  purity  of  the  marriage  tie, 
and  of  the  cause  of  injured  women,  shows  that 
the  King's  party  was  at  least  as  much  alive  as 
its  opponents  to  the  moral  evils  of  the  age."  ^ 

Laud's  letters  to  his  friend,  the  Earl  of 
Strafford,  show  how  he  took  things,  as  also  a 
letter  to  Vossius,  the  learned  Dutch  philo- 
logist, in  which  he  says,  "  I  am  resolved  to 
go  forward  in  the  way  you  have  seen  me  go. 
I  hope  God  will  give  me  constancy  and 
patience,  and  I  heartily  desire  that  you  will 
commend  me  to  His  protection  by  your 
prayers.  Thus  fortified,  I  will  go  forward 
whithersoever  He  shall  lead  me."^  In  such 
words  we  see  the  undaunted  coin*age  of  the 
man,  and  still  more  his  profound  faith  and 
trust  in  God.  Certainly  the  office  of  Primate 
of  all  England  in  the  latter  half  of  the  reign 
of  Charles  I.  was  one  that  brought  with  it 
considerable  responsibility  :  it  was  one  so  beset 
with  dangers  and  difficulties  on  all  sides,  that 
the  holder  might  well  shrink  back ;  but  Laud, 
as  he  confessed  to  A^ossius,  was  resolved  to 
go  forward ;  and  go  forward  lie  did. 

»  Ilutton,  pp.  104,  105.  ^  Bailies,  p.  03. 


MORAL  REFORM  81 

The  new  Archbishop's  first  act  of  import- 
ance was  to  enforce  the  Canons  of  1603, 
which  enacted  that  no  person  was  to  receive 
Holy  Orders  without  a  title ;  that  is  to  say,  ' 
without  the  allotment  of  some  definite  sphere 
of  work  either  parochial  or  academical.  The  ^ 
reasonableness  of  such  a  course  is  beyond 
question  ;  but  it  at  once  provoked  the  hostility 
of  the  Puritans,  since  it  struck  a  blow  at  their  , 
unattached  ministers  and  lecturers,  to  whom 
reference  has  been  made.  By  this  time, 
Laud's  action  against  these  men,  by  means 
of  the  Instructions  of  1629  and  the  suppression 
of  the  Collectors  of  St.  Antholin's,  was,  as  it 
were,  hammered  home.  Heylin  observes  with 
his  usual  quaintness,  "  From  henceforth  we 
hear  but  little  of  such  vagrant  Ministers  and 
Trencher- Chaplains  (the  old  brood  being  once 
worn  out)  as  had  pestered  and  annoyed  the 
Church  in  those  latter  times."  ^ 

On  the  very  day  that  this  order  was  sent 
out  by  Laud  to  his  suffragans,  the  King's 
declaration  as  to  Sunday  sports  was  issued. 
In  the  preceding  reign,  King  James  had  pub- 
lished his  famous  Book  of  jSpojis,  in  which 
he  maintained  that  certain  sports  were  not 
unlawful  on  the  Lord's  day  out  of  church- 
hours.      James'  object   in   issuing  this   Book 

1  Heyliu,  v.  241. 

6 


82  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

seems  to  have  been  to  promote  concord 
amongst  his  subjects,  divided  as  they  were 
into  two  factions — those  who  clung  to  old 
English  games  and  pastimes,  and  the  narrow- 
minded  religionists  who  held  that  the  Christian 
Sunday  and  the  Je\\dsh  Sabbath  were  identical, 
and  who  also  regarded  all  recreation  as  sinful. 
One  heartily  wishes  that  such  a  matter  as 
Sunday  recreation  had  not  been  the  subject 
of  minute  Royal  injunctions,  and  that  a  broad- 
minded  tolerance  had  been  applied  to  the 
question.  But  this  was  not  to  be,  owing  to 
the  narroAvness  of  the  extreme  Puritans,  who 
held,  with  dogmatic  assurance,  that  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  was  of  perpetual  obligation  in  Chris- 
tian times.  This  doctrine  had  been  promin- 
ently asserted  in  a  book  written  in  1G28,  by 
Theophilus  Bradburn,  a  Suffolk  clergyman ; 
in  which  it  was  urged  that  the  observance  of 
the  Lord's  day  was  binding  by  virtue  of  the 
fourth  Commandment.  The  book  was  con- 
demned by  the  Court  of  High  Commission, 
upon  which  the  author  recanted  his  opinions. 
The  Sabbatarian  controversy  was,  however, 
set  going,  and  it  continued  throughout  the 
reigns  of  James  I.  and  Charles  I.  In  the 
hope  of  bringing  this  controversy  to  an  end, 
King  Charles  resolved  to  interfere ;  and  there- 
upon requested  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 


SUNDAY  OBSERVANCE  83 

to  have  the  Book  of  Sports  reprinted.  To 
this  document  the  King  added  his  ratification, 
in  which  he  declared  that  wakes  and  other 
feasts  should  be  observed,  and  that  the  magis- 
trates were  to  protect  the  people  in  their 
lawful  recreations  on  Sundays,  provided  that 
they  had  first  attended  divine  worship  in  the 
churches.  The  bishops  were  ordered  to  cause 
the  document  to  be  read  in  all  parish  churches. 
When  we  consider  the  action  of  the  King  in 
re-issuing  the  Book  of  Sports,  and  virtually 
giving  it  the  force  of  law,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  in  the  seventeenth  century  the 
State  of  England  was  face  to  face  with  an 
organized  tyranny  in  the  shape  of  popular 
Puritanism,  which  was  striking  a  serious  blow 
at  the  liberty  of  the  subject,  by  endeavouring 
to  fasten  upon  him  the  fetters  of  Jewish  observ- 
ances. In  the  opinion  of  the  authorities,  this 
tyranny  could  only  be  met  by  prompt  and 
decided  measures,  such  as  the  promulgation  of' 
the  Book  of  Sports,  which  was  in  reality  in- 
tended to  be  a  bulwark  of  personal  liberty.  / 
As  there  is  some  misconception  as  to  what  the 
Book  of  Sports  really  was,  we  here  quote  the 
accurate  description  of  it  given  by  ^Ir.  Baines 
in  his  Lfe  of  Laud, '^  who  says  "its  object 
was  to  make  Sunday  more  attractive  to  the 

1  Loud.  185.5,  p.  197. 


84  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM  LAUD 

poor  than  Puritanism,  which  considered  the 
Jewish  Sabbath  still  in  force,  permitted.  It 
therefore  allowed  the  people  to  join  in  all 
innocent  recreations  on  Sunday  afternoons 
after  Divine  Service,  while  it  especially  pro- 
hibited all  brutalizing  amusements  such  as 
bull-baiting,  etc." 

On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  the  observance  in  its  true  form  of  the 
Sunday  was  not  impaired  by  such  an  enact- 
ment. Up  to  a  certain  point,  the  Puritan  was 
right  in  his  strict  observance  of  the  Lord's 
day.  Was  there  not  then  a  tendency  in  such 
a  public  document  as  the  Book  of  Spo7is  to 
cause  the  people  who  accepted  it  to  fly  off  to 
the  opposite  extreme  ?  At  the  present  day 
we  witness  the  remarkable  sight  of  religiously 
minded  men  of  all  denominations  uniting 
in  order  to  bring  about  a  better  and  a  stricter 
observance  of  the  Sunday.  The  joint  letter  to 
the  nation  (January,  1907)  issued  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  the  Roman  Catholic 
Archbishop  of  Westminster,  and  the  President 
of  the  Nonconformist  Free  Church  Council,  is 
most  significant. 

In  1634,  Laud  determined  to  make  a 
supreme  effort,  in  his  province  of  Canterbury, 
to  bring  back  the  Church  as  a  whole  to  the 
old  paths  from  which  she  had  so  lamentably 


METROPOLITICAL  VISITATION  85 

strayed — an  effort  especially  connected  with 
the  reformation  of  her  outward  worship.  In 
this,  as  on  other  occasions,  he  had  the  full 
sympathy  and  approbation  of  the  King.  The 
means  adopted  was  a  Visitation  as  metro- 
politan of  all  the  dioceses  of  the  Southern 
province.  The  Visitation  was  to  last  two  years. 
It  was  entrusted  to  his  Vicar-general,  Sir 
Nathaniel  Brent,  Warden  of  JNIerton  College, 
Oxford ;  and  later  to  Sir  John  Lamb,  Dean  of 
Arches.  When  this  Visitation  was  proceeding 
in  the  Southern  province,  a  similar  one  under 
Neile,  Archbishop  of  York,  was  taking  place 
in  the  Northern  province.^  In  order  rightly 
to  estimate  the  need  of  the  Visitation,  we 
must  consider  the  state  of  the  cathedrals  and 
parish  churches  in  England  in  the  time  of 
Laud. 

We  have  already  dwelt  upon  the  Zwinglo- 
Calvinistic  reformation  under  Edward,  with  its 
profanation  and  spoliation  of  churches  ;  and  seen 
how,  after  a  brief  respite  under  Mary,  the  same 
spirit  manifested  itself  in  the  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth. It  is  true  that  in  her  reign  a  re-action 
set  in  ;  this  and  the  labours  of  Laud  and  others 
had  to  a  slight  extent  improved  matters,  but 
much  remained  to  be  done.  IVIany  of  the 
churches  were  in  a  condition  which  even  the 

1  Diet.  Nat.  Bioff.,  xxxii.  190. 


86  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

descendants  of  the  Puritans  at  the  present  day 
would  not  have  tolerated. 

One  might  imagine,  for  instance,  that  the 
private  chapel  of  Abbot,  the  late  archbishop, 
would  have  been  bare,  as  befitted  his  Puritan 
proclivities  ;  but  we  learn  that  it  was  actually 
in  a  disgraceful  condition  of  neglect  and  decay. 
Laud's  description  of  it  is  expressive,  though 
somewhat  blunt  and  bou?^geois.  He  says  "  it 
was  lying  nastily."  And  if  such  was  the  case 
with  the  place  of  worship  of  the  Primate  of  all 
England,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
many  a  glorious  parish  church  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  "was  lying 
nastily,"  too.  Into  this  herculean  task  of  re- 
storing the  houses  of  God  in  the  land,  the  new 

V  Archbishop  threw  himself  heart  and  soul. 

/  The  key  of  the  position,  as  it  were,  was 
the  Altar.  It  was  upon  the  abolition  of  the 
Altar  that  the  so-called  reformers  concentrated 
their  efforts.  Ilidley  and  his  followers  threw 
down  the  altars  and  substituted  mo\'able 
tables,  wliich  usually  stood  in  the  middle  of 
the  chancel,  or  in  tlie  body  of  the  cluu'ch.^ 
Some  ardent  followers  outstripped  the  leaders 
of  the  movement,  and  desecrated  altar-slabs  by 
placing  them  at  the  threshold  of  the  church,  so 

1   It  is  true  that  in  tlic  cliajH'ls  ntyal  and  a  f»nv  other  churches 
tlic  old  position  of  the  Lord's  'I'ablc  was  retaiiiud. 


METROPOLITICAL   VISITATION  87 

as  to  be  trodden  under  the  feet  of  men.  It 
even  happened  sometimes,  that  the  old  altars 
were  more  grossly  profaned  by  being  put  to 
uses  that  cannot  be  mentioned  in  print.  Laud 
and  his  party  on  the  other  hand  restored  the 
Altar,  causing  it  to  stand  permanently  in  its 
old  position,  and  in  some  cases  the  new  altars 
were  made  of  stone.  Heylin  gives  us  a 
glimpse  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  most  parish 
churches,  when  Laud  took  the  matter  of  the 
restoration  in  hand.  He  tells  us  how  the 
Holy  Table — often  a  very  rough  wooden 
erection  on  trestles — stood  in  the  middle  of 
the  church  unprotected  by  rails,  and  thus  it 
became  the  place  upon  which  many  men 
tossed  their  hats, — though  the  Puritans  did  not 
always  remove  them  in  church.  It  also  served 
as  a  table  at  which  the  schoolmaster  taught 
boys  to  write,  it  was  defiled  by  dogs,  it  was 
full  of  holes  caused  by  glaziers  and  carpenters.^ 
It  is  hardly  open  to  doubt  but  that  most  } 
of  the  blame  in  this  desecration  must  be 
laid  upon  the  Edwardian  "  reformers,"  rather  ^ 
than  upon  the  often  ignorant  Puritans,  who  \ 
faithfully  followed  them  in  doctrine  and] 
practice. 

The    main    injunctions    of    the    Visitation 
Articles  were  that  the  Holy  Table  should  stand 

1  Heyliu,  p.  272. 


88  LIFE   OF  WILLIAIM  LAUD 

altarwise,  and  permanently  at  the  east  end  of 
the  church,  and  that  it  should  be  protected 
from  profanation  by  rails.  In  some  places 
galleries  had  been  erected  over  the  east  end  of 
the  church, — they  were  ordered  to  be  taken 
do^m.  As  to  the  Cathedral  churches,  they 
seem  to  have  been  in  a  better  condition  than 
many  of  the  parochial  churches,  since  most  of 
them  had  already  experienced  the  movement 
in  favour  of  decency  and  reverence.  Worcester 
and  Durham  Cathedrals  little  needed  the  Visit- 
ation, for  in  them  the  holy  tables  were 
made  of  stone,  altar  lights  were  used,  and  a 
considerable  amount  of  ceremonial  was  in 
vogue.  Some  other  Cathedrals  were  likewise 
favoured.  The  first  Cathedral  to  be  visited 
was  Canterbury,  where  the  altar  was  found  in 
its  right  position  at  the  east  end  of  the  quire, 
and  the  custom  of  bowing  towards  it  was  in 
use.  Thereupon  Laud  ordered  candlesticks, 
basins,  and  altar  cloths  to  be  provided.  A 
new  body  of  Cathedral  Statutes  was  drawn 
up.  INluch  the  same  was  done  in  tlie  case  of 
tlic  other  Catlicdrals.  Some  of  them  possessed 
copes,  and  in  the  case  of  those  which  did  not, 
orders  were  given  that  they  sliould  be  supplied. 
This  was  done  in  accordance  with  canon  24, 
of  A.D.  1003.  Chichester  was  required  to  pro- 
vide  copes   "  by   one   a    year    till  they  were 


METROrOLITICAL   VISITATION  89 

sufficiently  furnished  with  them."  In  some 
places  the  Puritan  spirit  burst  forth  in  its 
opposition  to  the  Visitation,  but  on  the  whole 
matters  seemed  to  have  passed  off  quietly,  and  a 
considerable  amount  of  wholesome  reformation 
was  effected. 

The  most  serious  opposition  encountered 
was  at  the  hands  of  Laud's  old  enemy, 
Williams,  Bishop  of  Lincoln.  As  we  have 
before  noticed,  in  order  to  gain  his  own  per- 
sonal ends,  Williams  allied  himself  with  the 
Puritans  and  favoured  them.  The  altar  in  his 
own  private  chapel  at  Buckden  Palace,  stood 
in  its  proper  place,  as  also  in  his  Cathedral 
Church  at  Lincoln,  and  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
of  which  he  was  Dean.  He  also  caused  the 
altar  at  St.  Martin's,  Leicester,  to  be  properly 
placed  ;  but  in  December,  1633,  when  the  visit- 
ation had  begun,  he  granted  to  the  vicar  and 
churchwardens  permission  to  replace  the  altar 
in  the  body  of  the  church.^  Upon  this  act  of 
hostility,  the  Archbishop  proceeded  to  make 
the  Diocese  of  Lincoln  the  scene  of  his  visit- 
ation, inhibiting  the  bishop  and  his  archdeacons 
while  the  visitation  lasted.  Williams,  being 
a  man  of  resource,  retaliated  by  claiming 
exemption  from  the  inhibition  under  certain 
Bulls  obtained  from  Pope  Innocent  IV.,  and 

1  Hoylin,  p.  269. 


90  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

he  also  maintained  that  the  inhibition  would 
act  ruinously  upon  him,  by  diverting  fees  and 
procurations    which    then    formed   the    chief 
source  of  the  episcopal  income.     The  matter 
was  referred  to  the  Lords  of  the  Council,  and 
their  verdict  M^as  in  favour  of  the  Archbishop  ; 
and  so  the  Visitation  proceeded.     As  soon  as 
the   inhibition    ceased,   AVilliams    ^dsited    his 
diocese   in    person,    and    proceeded   to   curry 
favour  with  the  Puritan  party.     It  is  related 
that,  on  meeting  with  Dr.  Bret,  a  Puritan  of 
some  eminence,  he  burst  forth  with  the  words 
of  St.  Augustine,  "  although  a  bishop  is  greater 
than  a  presbyter,  yet  Augustine  is  inferior  to 
Jerome,"  thus  playing  to  the  Puritan  gallery, 
by  implying  that  even  if  a  bishop  is  greater 
than  a  presbyter,  yet  Bret  was  greater  than 
AVilliams.     He  also  gratified  the  Puritans  by 
orderuig  the  Holy  Table  to  stand  in  the  body 
of  the  church  with  a  rail  about  it,  and  not  at 
the  east  end  with  a  rail  before  it.     A  paper- 
warfare  of  pamphlets  between   \A^illiams  and 
Heylin,     Laud's     biographer,     followed.      In 
1G27,  Williams  had  put  forth  his  opinions  in 
a  Letter  to  the  Vicar  of  Grantham.     Heylin, 
in    1034-,    repubhshed    this     tract,     with    an 
answer  appended  entitled,  A    Coal  from  the 
Altar.     Williams  replied  in  1037,  by  a  pam- 
phlet  called,   Holy    Tabk\   name  and  things 


FOREIGN  PROTESTANTS   IN   ENGLAND     91 

which  drew  an  answer  from  HeyUn,  Antidotum 
Lincolniense. 

The  next  event  of  importance  in  the  primacy 
of  WilHam  Laud  was  his  action  with  regard  to 
the  Foreign  Protestants  who  were  domiciled  in 
England.    They  consisted  partly  of  the  descend- 
ants of  foreigners,  who  were  imported  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI.,  in  order  to  leaven  the 
religion  of  the  country  with  Protestantism,  and 
partly  of  refugees  from  France  and  the  Low 
Countries,  who  had  fled  to  England  to  escape 
persecution,  especially  in  the  reign  of  Elizaheth, 
and  who  were  settled  in  the  chief  towns  and 
cities.     These  colonies  of  foreigners  were  nests 
of  sedition  and  heresy,  and  if  it  was  right  for 
the  authorities  in  Church  and  State  to  restrain 
English  Puritanism,  it  was  still  more  right  to 
restrain    the   foreign   professors   of  the   same 
system.     It  is  easy  at  the  present  day  to  pass 
judgment  upon  Laud  for  his  repressive  meas- 
ures, but  one  must  remember  that,  in  his  time, 
religious  toleration  was  unknown.    All  religious 
bodies  were  intolerant  in  those  days,  and  per- 
haps none  more  so  than  the  Puritans  themselves 
when  they  got  the  upper  hand,  as  is  shown  by 
their  actions  during  the  Commonwealth,  and 
in  their  New  England   Colonies.     JNIoreover, 
the  foreigners  domiciled  in  England  practised 
their   own    religion   and   their   own   form  of 


92  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

worship,    and    thus     influenced     the     native 
malcontents. 

Laud's  injunctions  were : — First,  that  all 
natives  should  conform  to  the  English  Church 
and  attend  the  parish  churches  ;  and  Secondly, 
that  the  aliens  should  use  the  English  Liturgy 
in  their  own  language.  They  appealed  to  the 
King,  and  a  modification  was  granted,  that  the 
aliens  might  retain  their  own  discipline,  but 
that  none  but  aliens  might  be  their  ministers. 
When  we  consider  Laud's  action  towards  these 
people  in  the  light  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
we  must  admit  that  it  was  not  intolerant,  and 
that  he  dealt  leniently.  A  fact  to  be  mentioned 
is,  that  the  foreigners  wrote  him  a  letter  of 
thanks,  which  he  produced  at  his  trial. 

Another  matter  entered  into  by  the  untiring 
energy  of  the  Primate  was  that  of  the  English 
congregations  abroad.  Owing  to  the  influence 
of  foreign  Protestantism,  the  worship  of  these 
Anglican  congregations  seems  to  have  become 
almost  entirely  conformed  to  the  ways  of 
Geneva.  As  Bishop  of  London,  Laud  was, 
ea:  officio,  in  charge  of  tliese  congregations  ;  and 
it  was  then  that  he  first  turned  his  attention  to 
the  matter,  and  drew  up  certain  regulations 
with  regard  to  chaplains — amongst  others, 
"  that  every  minister  or  chaplain  in  any  factory 
or  regiment  shall  read  the  Common  Prayer  and 


ECCLESIASTICAL  REFORM  93 

administer  the  Sacraments,  catechize  children, 
and  perform  all  other  public  ministerial  duties, 
according  to  the  rules  and  rubrics  of  the 
English  Liturgy  and  Canons."  Naturally 
much  opposition  was  aroused,  but  by  1634 
the  Archbishop  had  won  the  day ;  and  all 
English  churches  and  regiments  in  Holland, 
Hamburg,  Turkey,  India,  Virginia,  Barbadoes, 
and  other  places,  had  to  conform  to  the 
Church's  laws,  and  were  made  responsible  to 
the  Bishop  of  London. 

In  connection  with  Laud's  spiritual  care  for 
English  people  abroad  and  in  the  Colonies,  we 
must  pass  on  to  consider  his  action  with  regard 
to  the  Channel  Islands.  In  the  sixteenth 
century  the  Channel  Islands  were  placed  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  Winchester. 
Owing  partly  to  their  proximity  to  France, 
the  religious  tone  of  the  islands  was  affected 
by  Calvinism ;  and,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
the  Genevan  system  seems  to  have  been  openly 
tolerated.  James  I.,  however,  revived  the  old 
office  of  Dean,  and  caused  the  Prayer  Book  to 
be  translated  into  French.  Had  Laud  been 
able  to  carry  out  his  Archiepiscopal  Visitation 
in  the  Islands,  much  good  would  have  ensued  ; 
but  even  his  activity  had  limits,  and  this  had 
to  be  given  up.  He  did  what  he  could  by 
providing   for   a   more  learned   clergy.      The 


94  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

estate  of  Sir  JNIiles  Hubbard,  who  died  in- 
testate, reverted  to  the  King ;  and,  through 
Laud's  influence,  part  of  the  estate  was  used 
to  endow  fellowships  at  Exeter,  Pembroke,  and 
Jesus  Colleges,  Oxford. 

Another  matter  which  occupied  Laud  dur- 
ing his  primacy,  was  the  case  of  the  London 
incumbents.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 
they  were,  by  a  decree  of  the  King,  allowed 
the  sum  of  two  shillings  and  ninepence  in  the 
pound  on  the  rents  of  houses.  This  was  after- 
wards confirmed  by  Act  of  Parliament.  The 
legahty  of  the  grant  was  never  disputed,  but 
all  sorts  of  artifices  were  adopted  in  order  to 
evade  payment.  So  successful  was  the  plan 
.  adopted,  that  the  clergy  were  reduced  to  a  sad 
state  of  penury.  In  1618,  they  appealed  to 
the  Court  of  Exchequer,  and  although  the 
judges  ordered  payment  upon  the  genuine 
rents  of  houses,  the  landlords  still  evaded  their 
obligations.  INIatters  became  worse  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  I.,  when  steps  were  taken  to 
obtain  justice ;  but  they  were  frustrated  by 
the  political  and  ecclesiastical  troubles  that  en- 
sued. The  civic  dignitaries  and  shopkeepers 
never  forgot  Laud's  championsliipof  his  poorer 
brethren ;  but  "  the  business  of  the  tythes  of 
London  "  was  brought  against  him  at  liis  trial. 
It  was  but  another  instance  of  the  truth  that 


THE   STAR   CHAMBER  95 

to  do  one's  duty  often  results  in  making  bitter 
enemies. 

Here  we  may  turn  to  consider  a  series  of 
prosecutions,  some  of  which  took  place  when 
Laud  was  bishop  of  London.     These  prosecu- 
tions may,   with  truth,   be  said   to   be   more 
connected  with  the  general  history  of  England 
than  with  the  life  of  Archbishop  Laud  ;  but  as 
they  took   place    in   the    Star  Chamber,   and 
Laud  was  a  member  of  that  court,  and  the 
offences  of  the  prosecuted  were  partly  against 
the   Church,   we   must   refer  to   them.     The 
Star  Chamber  was  a  court  formed  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VII.     As  Mr.  Hutton  remarks, — 
"  It  was  a  legal  court,  contrary  though  it  was 
to  the  true  principles  of  the  English  Constitu- 
tion ;  and  Laud  took  it  as  he  found  it,  as  part 
of  the  settled  system  under  which  it  was  his 
lot  to  live,  and  sat  among  its  members  as  one 
of  the  ordinary  duties  which  fell  to  him  to  per- 
form. .  .  .  He  sat  in  the  Star  Chamber  with 
as  clear  a  conscience,  and  as  single  an  aim,  as 
those   with   which   many   clerks   have  sat  in 
modern  times   on   the    bench   of   the   Petty 
Sessions."  ^ 

The  three  cases  chiefly  associated  with  Laud 
are  those  of  Prynne,  Bastwick,  and  Burton. 
William  Prynne  was  a  lawyer  of  some  ability, 

1  Hutton,  p.  133. 


96  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

who  from  boyhood  had  been  infected  with  a 
Puritanism  of  the  most  virulent  type.     With 
a  dihgence  worthy  of  a  better  cause,  he  had 
heaped   up   a   marvellous    store   of   learning, 
sacred  and  profane.     The  theatre  was  the  first 
object  that  invited  his  wrath.     A  large  part  of 
his  stock  of  learning  was  discharged  at  plays 
and  play  actors,  in  the  shape  of  a  ponderous 
tome    entitled   Histrioinastix.      But    his    de- 
nunciations did  not  stop  at  the  theatre ;    as 
Heylin  expresses   it,  "  he   seemed  to  breathe 
nothing  but  disgrace  to  the  nation,  infamy  to 
the  Church,  reproaches  to  the  court,  dishonour 
to  the  Queen,  and  some  things  which  were 
thought  to  be  tending  to  the  destruction  of  his 
Majesty's  Person."     In  those  days,  to  attack 
in  writing  the  person  of  the  monarch  was   a 
serious  matter,  since  it  implied  the  crime  of 
High  Treason,  with  its  penalty  of  being  hung, 
drawn   and    quartered,    the   latter   sometimes 
being  performed  before  life  was  extinct.     Not 
long  before,  during  Queen    Elizabeth's  reign, 
this  penalty  was  freely  meted  out,  often  on  the 
very  slightest  grounds  of  proof     The  punish- 
ment therefore  of  Prynne,  which  consisted  in 
his  being   imprisoned,  fined  £5,000,  degraded 
from  his  profession,  set  in  the  pillory,  with  the 
loss  of  his    ears,    was    really  moderate    when 
judged  by  the  cruel  laws  of  the  day. 


THE  STAR  CHAMBER  97 

In  1635,  Prynne  was  again  apprehended, 
this  time  in  company  with  a  Puritan  minister, 
Henry  Burton,  and  a  physician,  John  Bast- 
wick.  Burton  was  prosecuted  for  two  Ubellous 
sermons,  attacking  the  Laudian  pohcy  with 
the  foul-mouthed  denunciation  of  the  Puritan- 
ism of  the  day.  Heyhn  gives  us  samples  of 
his  eloquence,  and  concludes,  "  These  are  the 
principal  flowers  of  Rhetorick  which  grew  in 
the  Garden  of  H.  B.,  sufficient,  questionless, 
to  show  how  sweet  a  champion  he  was  like 
to  prove  of  the  Church  and  Gospel."  ^ 

Bastwick  was  the  author  of  a  parody  on  the 
Litany,  which,  besides  being  irreverent,  was 
also  silly  without  the  saving  grace  of  humour. 
Prynne's  productions  were,  2Vie  Qiiench-Coal, 
The  unhishopping  of  Timothy  and  Titus ^  and 
l^evcs  from  Ipsxmch, — so  gross  were  his  libels, 
that  Heylin  after  quoting  some  of  the  names 
applied  to  the  bishops,  says  that  there  were 
"  many  other  odious  names  not  fit  to  be  used 
by  a  Christian." 

The  court  condemned  Prynne,  Burton,  and 
Bastwick  to  lose  their  ears,  to  be  each  fined 
£5,000,  and  to  be  imprisoned  in  Guernsey, 
Jersey,  and  Scilly.  That  the  sentence  was 
outrageously  severe,  none  can  deny ;  and  it 
was    even   more   impolitic ;    for    these   three 

^  Heylin,  p.  311. 

7 


98  LIFE   OF  WILLIAIM   LAUD 

coarse  libellers  became,  in  the  popular  estima- 
tion, saints  and  confessors,  and  their  persecu- 
tion only  strengthened  the  Puritan  cause.  It 
is  worthy  of  note  that  Laud  did  not  vote, 
and  also  that  he  said  that,  under  Elizabeth, 
Penry  was  hanged,  and  Udal  died  in  prison, 
for  less  than  was  contained  in  Burton's 
sermons.  In  Laud's  eyes,  these  offenders  were 
traitors  against  Church  and  State  ;  but  towards 
them  personally  he  felt  no  bitterness ;  for  he 
says  "  I  pitied  them,  as  God  knows,  from 
my  very  lieart."  ^  It  must  also  in  fairness  be 
remembered,  that  the  methods  of  the  Court 
were  not  of  Laud's  making,  nor  did  he  select 
the  punishments,  as  some  writers  have  seemed 
to  imply.  To  the  trials  of  Leighton  and  of 
Sherfield  reference  has  already  been  made. 

A  few  words  must  be  said  about  the  Court 
of  the  High  Commission.  This  Court  was 
established  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  It  may 
be  said  to  have  been  the  creation  of  Parlia- 
ment. Its  chief  duty  was  to  enforce  the 
acts  of  Supremacy  and  Uniformity.  To  a 
large  extent,  it  took  the  place  of  the  ancient 
ecclesiastical  courts.  If  the  bishops  had 
acted  constitutionally,  they  would  have  done 
so  througli  their  own  courts ;  but  owing  to 
the  influence  of  the  State,  and  from  motives 

'  laud's  Wurks,  iii.  389, 


THE  COURT  OF  HIGH  COMMISSION      99 

of  practical  convenience,  the  Court  of  High 
Commission  became  the  most  important  tri- 
bunal in  which  ecclesiastical  causes  were  tried. 
Its  proceedings,  to  a  great  extent  directed 
against  the  Puritan  party,  created  much 
popular  odium  against  the  Church.  To  quote 
Mr.  Hutton,  "Probably  no  human  institu- 
tion has  ever  been  more  irrationally  or  more 
untruthfully  attacked."  ^ 

The  Act  Books  of  the  Court,  which  cover 
two  years  and  a  quarter,  have  been  preserved ; 
and  their  testimony  is  that,  during  this  period, 
only  two  clergymen  were  sentenced  to  de- 
position from  the  ministry ;  one  for  a  grave 
moral  offence,  and  the  other  for  teaching  that 
Saturday  should  be  observed  as  the  Sabbath. 
In  the  latter  case,  on  submission,  the  sentence 
was  remitted.  Only  four  clergy  were  sentenced 
to  deprivation,  and  suspension  from  the  exer- 
cise of  their  functions,  one  of  whom  was 
guilty  of  dishonesty,  and  two  of  reviling  their 
parishioners. 

The  cloud  overhanging  the  horizon,  to  which 
we  have  already  referred,  had,  by  1637,  as- 
sumed alarming  proportions,  and  every  moment 
it  threatened  to  burst  with  tremendous  fury. 
In  that  year  the  carefully  laid  plans  for  bring- 
ing  Scotland  into  conformity  with  England 

1  Hutton,  p.  98. 


100  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

in  the  use  of  a  Service  Book,  came  to  nought, 
by  the  insurrection  that  began  in  Edinburgh, 
and  the  troubles  into  which  both  Church  and 
State  were  phniged  commenced.  The  re- 
maining years  of  the  primacy  of  William 
Laud  are  inextricably  connected  with  these 
troubles,  and  they  wiU  be  described  in  detail 
later.  The  same  is  the  case  in  regard  to 
affairs  in  Scotland  and  in  Ireland. 


CHAPTER  V 

LAUD   AS   REFORMER 
laud's   reformation,  a  re-action   against 

THAT  OF    CRANMER LAUD's    OPPOSITION  TO 

CALVINISM EPISCOPACY,    DE  JURE  DIVINO 

ASSERTION     OF     SACRAMENTAL     DOCTRINE 

RE-ACTION  TOWARDS    CATHOLIC  BELIEF  AND 

PRACTICE  CEREMONIAL     REFORMATION 

LIMITATIONS    IN    LAUD's    REFORMATION 

Reference  has  already  been  made  in  Chapter 
I.  to  the  downward  course  which  the  Reforma- 
tion took  in  Enghmd.  JMen  who  are  commonly- 
called  "  reformers  "  were  really  more  identified 
with  revolt  than  with  reform ;  since  by  their 
actions  they  endeavoured  to  do  away  with, 
rather  than  to  reform,  the  ancient  religious 
system.  We  have  already  noticed  that,  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  a  re-action  set  in,  in- 
augurated by  such  men  as  Hooker  and  others. 
But  this  movement  was  not  fully  developed 
and  carried  into  effect  until  the  advent  of 
William  Laud. 

101 


102  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

This  re-action  was  a  true  reformation-move- 
ment :  whilst  rejecting  Papal  and  mediaeval 
accretions,  it  steadily  turned  its  face  towards  the 
genuine  teaching  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church, 
and  especially  the  Church  before  the  disastrous 
Schism  between  the  East  and  West,  which 
took  place  in  the  eleventh  century.  If  this  be 
admitted,  then  Laud  is  to  be  regarded  as  the 
great  constructive  reformer  of  the  Anglican 
Church  ;  and  in  this  chapter  we  are  to  consider 
him  as  such.  When  we  contrast  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Cranmerian  reformers  in  the  days  of 
Edward  VL,  with  the  true  reformation  carried 
out  by  Laud  and  his  followers,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  the  aims  of  the  former  were 
diametrically  opposed  to  those  of  the  latter. 
It  is  quite  possible,  so  to  speak,  to  canonize 
Cranmer  and  his  colleagues ;  but,  in  doing 
this.  Laud  and  his  party  become  logically 
Romanizers,  for  in  their  view  the  Iloman 
Church  was  part  of  the  Chiu'ch  of  Christ, 
and  the  Pope  was  a  Christian  bishop.  In  the 
eyes  of  the  former  party  the  Iloman  Church 
was  an  Anti-cliristian  apostacy,  and  the  Pope 
was  clearly  the  JNlan  of  Sin.  In  the  same  way, 
if  we  hold  the  Laudian  movement  to  have 
l)een  a  genuine  reformation,  then  consequently 
tliat  of  Cranmer  was  a  revolution.  It  is  quite 
true  that  in  the  writings  of  men  of  Laud's 


LAUD^S   REFORMATION  103 

school,  such  as  Heyhn  and  others,  we  find  the 
theory  advanced  that  the  Laudian  movement 
was  a  continuation  of  the  Cranmerian:  but  such 
a  theory  is  most  difficult  to  square  with  facts, 
and  one  can  only  think  that  these  men  were 
driven  to  write  in  this  strain  in  order,  as  they 
honestly  thought,  to  strengthen  their  position. 
The  monumental  work  of  Canon  Dixon  ^  gives 
a  learned  and  impartial  account  of  the  Ed- 
wardian reformation ;  and  if  we  take  this  as 
our  guide,   it  is  impossible  to  maintain  that) 
Laud's  work  was  a  development  of  that  of) 
Cranmer.     To  take  one  instance,  namely,  the» 
treatment  of  the  Altar  or  Holy  Table.    What ) 
the  followers  of  Cranmer  threw  down,  Laud  and 
his  party  built  up.     In  both  cases  important/ 
doctrinal  reasons  prompted  their  actions.     The 
Edwardian  reformers,   as  a  body,  disbelieved, 
whilst  Laud  and  his  followers  believed,  in  th( 
Eucharistic  Sacrifice.     It  is  true  that  the  Laud-] 
ian  divines  protested  against  certain  populai 
mediceval    theories    of   the    doctrine    of    the 
Sacrifice  of  the  Altar  ;  but  from  their  writings  / 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  they  clearly  believed  in  \ 
that  doctrine.      If,  for  instance,  we  compare  '; 
their    statements     with     those     made    by    a  ,^ 
moderate    man   of   the    "  old   learning,"   like  I 

^  History  of  the  Church  of  England  from  the  abolition  of  the 
Roman  Jurisdiction,  1877-1900. 


104  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

Bishop  Gardiner  in  his  celebrated  sermon 
before  Edward  VI.,  it  is  hard  to  detect  any 
doctrinal  differences  whatsoever. 

That  Laud  was  a  Romanizer,  in  the  true 
sense  of  that  word,  is  too  ridiculous  to  need 
refutation.  Such  an  opinion  is  the  result  of 
the  MTitinsfs  of  narrow-minded  Puritans.  Laud 
was  a  Catholic,  but  of  the  stoutest  Anglican 
t}^e.  He  personally  re-converted  no  less  than 
twenty-two  persons  who  had  strayed  into  the 
Roman  fold.  In  his  controversy  with  Fisher, 
and  on  other  occasions,  he  valiantly  defended 
the  English  Church  against  Roman  attacks. 
Like  all  Angio-Catholic  divhies  of  his  day,  he 
called  himself  a  Protestant.  But  we  must 
remember  that  the  meaning  of  this  word  has 
changed  ;  at  the  present  day  even  the  moderate 
school  in  the  Anglican  Commimion  would 
resent  its  application  to  themselves.  In  the 
seventeenth  century  it  was  different.  "  Pro- 
testant "  seems  to  have  connoted  all  Christians 
wlio  protested  against  the  Roman  claims.  In 
this  sense  the  Greek  Cliurches  may  rightly  be 
styled  Protestant.  Sometimes  the  term  Pro- 
testant was  applied  to  English  Churchpeople 
in  contradistinction  to  Puritan  as  well  as 
to  Papist.  Ilcylin,  in  speaking  of  Bishop 
AN'illiams  not  attending  divine  service  when  in 
the  Tower,  says  :  "  ^\'heLher  it  gave  the  greater 


LAUD^S   OPPOSITION  TO   CALVINISM     105 

scandal  to  the  Protestants,  Pioritans  or  Papists, 
it  is  hard  to  say."^ 

The  first  thing  to  notice  in  tlie  work  of  Laud 
as  a  reformer,  is  his  conflict  with  the  system  of 
John  Calvin.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII., 
the  reforming  movement  may  be  said  to  have 
been  I^utheran  in  character  ;  but  Lutheranism 
was  far  too  conservative  to  please  the  "new 
learning"  in  England,  and  the  Lutheran 
influence  came  to  an  end  at  Henry's  death. 
During  Edward's  reign,  the  prevailing  tone 
was  Zwinglian,  mingled  with  Calvinism.  By 
the  time  of  Elizabeth,  Calvinism  had  got  the 
upper  hand ;  though,  no  doubt,  Zwinglian 
teaching  on  the  sacraments  prevailed. 
Lutheranism,  in  its  history,  soon  showed  its 
weakness :  it  became  divided  into  parties.  It 
had  little  or  no  organization,  for  Luther  was 
no  organizer.  It  was  wanting  as  a  religion  in 
completeness  and  logical  precision ;  and  it 
tended  towards  Erastianism.  In  some  parts  of 
Europe,  the  ground  occupied  by  Lutheranism 
was  captiu'ed  by  the  followers  of  Calvin. 
Calvinism  was,  in  many  respects,  the  opposite 
of  Lutheranism.  The  master-mind  of  John 
Calvin  had  constructed  a  system  which  was 
clear-cut  and  definite,  and  it  attracted  men  by 
its  severe  logic.     Even  the  terrible  dogma  that 

1  Heylin,  p.  324. 


106  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Christ  died  only  for  the  elect,  and  that  the 
greater  part  of  mankind  were  irrevocably  pre- 
destmated  to  eternal  damnation,  failed  to  repel 
them.  At  Geneva,  Calvin  ruled  as  dictator, 
possessing  more  authority  than  any  pope. 
After  his  death  in  1564,  there  was  no  weaken- 
ing of  the  system  that  he  founded.  Strange 
though  it  may  appear,  there  is  a  resemblance 
between  Calvin  and  Loyola.  Their  systems 
appealed  to  a  certain  type  of  mind,  both  men 
possessed  a  sternness  and  a  narrowness  which 
fascinated,  both  were  intolerant,  and  both  were 
anti-Erastian.  Against  Calvinism,  and  a  for- 
tiori against  Zwinghanism,  Laud  made  a  stand  ; 
and,  so  far  as  the  English  Church  is  concerned, 
eventually  conquered.  It  is  true  that  the  XV. 
Lambeth  Articles  were  rejected  in  Elizabeth's 
reign,  largely,  it  is  said,  through  the  influence  of 
Andrewes  ;  but  Laud  repelled  a  perhaps  more 
insidious  onslaught  of  Calvmism,  when,  by  the 
Declaration  before  the  Articles,  which  was 
drawn  up  through  his  influence,  he  freed  them 
from  a  purely  Calvinistic  interpretation.  We 
have  already  referred  to  the  consternation  that 
this  caused  amongst  the  Puritan  party,  and 
how  it  added  to  the  animosity  with  Avhich  they 
regarded  him.  He  also  in  Ireland  delivered 
the  Chiu'ch  from  the  Lambeth  Articles. 
Having    spoken    of    Laud's    attack    upon 


LAUD'S   OPPOSITION  TO   CALVINISM     107 

Zwinglian  Calvinism  as  a  whole,  which  was 
the  main  principle  of  the  Edwardian  reforma- 
tion, we  may  now  turn  to  the  details  of  his 
constructive  reformation,  and  see  how  it  was  a 
re-action  against,  rather  that  a  development  of, 
the  teaching  of  Cranmer  and  his  party.  The 
study  of  "  the  Catholic  Fathers  and  ancient 
Bishops  "  had  now  been  going  on  for  some 
time.  The  leaven  of  Anglo- Catholicism  had 
been  surely  but  slowly  permeating  the  Church. 
When  men  studied  those  ancient  wi'iters,  the 
radical  difference  between  the  Patristic  stand- 
point and  that  of  the  "reformers"  became 
evident,  and  the  "inspiration"  of  Calvin's 
Institutes  was  first  questioned,  then  disbelieved, 
and  the  book  was  finally  displaced  from  its 
position  as  chief  text  -  book  of  English 
theology. 

The  teaching  of  the  Edwardian  divines  upon 
the  constitution  of  the  Church  was  conspicu- 
ously at  variance  with  that  of  the  Fathers. 
Episcopacy  was  indeed  retained ;  but  this 
seems  to  have  been  more  for  politic  reasons 
than  from  any  belief  in  the  grace  of  Holy 
Order.  Cranmer  and  others  held  but  hazy 
views  as  to  the  spiritual  character  of  ecclesias- 
tical jurisdiction.  The  ministry  of  Lutherans 
and  Calvinists,  and  other  non-episcopal  com- 
munions, was  regarded  by  them  as  valid.     In 


108  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  even  so  Catholic-minded 
a  ^\Titer  as  Hooker  taught  that,  in  cases  of 
extreme  necessity,  the  grace  of  Order  might 
be  conferred  by  presbyters.  He  says  "there 
may  be  sometimes  very  just  and  sufficient 
reason  to  allow  ordination  made  without  a 
bishop."^  In  Hooker's  day,  and  even  later, 
cures  of  souls  were  held  by  men  who  had 
received  merely  Presbyterian  ordination. 
Bancroft,  in  his  famous  sermon  of  1589, 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  English  divine  to 
dogmatically  assert  that  bishops  were  neces- 
sary to  the  esse  of  the  Church.  The  foreign 
Protestant  bodies  were  deemed  by  many 
churchmen  in  Elizabeth's  time,  and  even  later, 
to  be  "  sister  churches,"  on  an  equality  with 
the  Church  of  England :  by  some,  they  were 
moreover  held  to  be  purer,  in  that  they  came 
nearer  to  the  Genevan  ideal.  But  when  the 
Fathers  and  the  Schoolmen  came  to  be  studied, 
a  different  conception  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
was  the  result.  Then  the  Catholic  doctrine  of 
the  grace  of  Holy  Order — with  all  that  de- 
pends on  that  doctrine — was  accepted.  Then 
it  was  realized  that  episcopacy  was  of  the  esse, 
and  not  merely  of  the  bciie  esse  of  the  Clnn*ch. 
I^ess  than  twenty  years  after  the  death  of 
Laud,    his   disciples,  who  revised  the  Prayer 

^  Eccles.  Vol.,  VII.  xiv.  11. 


EnSCOPACY,  DE  JURE  DIVINO        109 

Book,  added  to  the  Preface  of  the  Ordinal  the 
significant  words  "  no  man  shall  be  accounted, 
or  taken  to  be  a  lawful  Bishop,  Priest,  or 
Deacon  in  the  Church  of  England,  or  suffered 
to  execute  any  of  the  said  functions,  except  he 
be  called,  tried,  examined,  and  admitted  there- 
unto, according  to  the  form  hereafter  following, 
or  hath  had  formerly  Episcopal  Consecration,  or 
Ordination."  This  addition  to  the  Preface  in 
1G62,  effectually  put  an  end  to  erroneous 
views  upon  the  subject ;  but  up  to  that  date 
these  ^'iews  to  some  extent  survived.  Owing 
to  the  dread  of  political  Romanism,  the  Pro- 
testant Communions  of  the  Continent  were 
looked  upon  as  Churches — though  no  doubt 
imperfect — by  some  writers  of  the  Laudian 
school.  The  adoption  of  the  added  paragraph 
may  be  well  compared  to  a  brilliant  feat  of 
arms,  a  dash  forward,  unlooked  for  by  the  foe, 
by  which  a  strategical  position  is  captured. 

Doubtless  it  was  this  objective  which  Laud 
and  his  followers  had  long  in  their  minds. 
We  now  have  a  stereotyped,  authoritative  de- 
claration of  the  Anglican  Church  that  the  grace 
of  Order  is  only  to  be  obtained  through  the 
episcopate.  The  Roman  and  the  Greek 
Churches,  however  far  they  may  in  certain 
points  have  departed  from  primitive  practice, 
are  officially  declared  by  the  Anglican  Church 


110  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

to  possess  a  valid  ministry,  whilst  the  ministry 
of  Presbyterians  and  other  Protestant  bodies  is 
plainly  implied  to  lack  Divine  warrant.  This 
is  no  mere  opinion  of  a  school  of  thought  in 
the  Anglican  Church,  but  her  official  teaching, 
in  accordance  with  the  words  of  St.  Ignatius, 
that  "  without  these  three  orders  (bishops, 
priests,  and  deacons)  no  Church  has  a  title  to 
the  name."^ 

Following  upon  the  assertion  of  the  Divine 
constitution  of  the  Church,  as  depending  upon 
the  episcopate,  a  return  was  made  to  the 
[Catholic  doctrine  concerning  the  Holy 
I  Eucharist  and  other  sacramental  ordinances. 
The  teaching  of  Overall  and  Andrewes  on  the 
Sacraments  was  confirmed  by  Laud.  The 
real  Presence  of  Christ  in  the  Holy  Eucharist 
was  believed  and  taught  by  him.  Space  per- 
mits only  a  few  quotations  upon  this  point.  At 
his  trial  he  spoke  the  following  words :  "  The 
Altar  is  the  greatest  place  of  God's  residence 
upon  earth,  greater  than  the  pulpit ;  for  there 
it  is.  Hoc  est  Corpus  Meum,  This  is  My  Body, 
but  ill  the  other  it  is  at  most  but.  Hoc  est 
Verhum  Mcum.,  this  is  My  AVord :  and  a 
greater  reverence  is  due  to  the  15ody,  than  the 
VV^ord  of  the  I^ord.'-^  In  liis  conference  with 
Fisher,  he  wrote,  "  For  the  Church  of  England 

1  Ad.  Trail.  'A.  ^    Worku,  iv.  284. 


SACRAMENTAL   DOCTRINE  111 

nothing  is  more  plain  than  that  it  beUeves  in  and 
teaches  the  true  and  real  Presence  of  Christ 
in  the  Eucharist.  ^  From  the  doctrine  of  the 
real  Presence  of  Christ,  adoration  of  his  Per- 
son follows  as  a  consequence.  This  is  clearly- 
taught  by  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor,  a  disciple  of 
Laud — "  But  if  He  be  present  to  us  not  in 
mystery  only,  but  in  blessing  also,  why  do  we 
not  worship  ?  But  all  the  Christians  always 
did  so  from  time  immemorial.  '  No  man  eats 
this  Flesh,  unless  he  first  adores,'  said  St. 
Austin :  '  For  the  wise  men  and  the  Bar- 
barians did  worship  this  Body  in  the  manger 
with  veiy  much  fear  and  reverence.  .  .  .  But 
thou  seest  Him,  not  in  the  manger,  but  on  the 
Altar,  and  thou  beholdest  Him,  not  in  the 
Virgin's  arms,  but  represented  by  the  Priest, 
and  brought  to  thee  in  sacrifice  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God.'  So  St.  Chrysostom  argues."^ 
Jeremy  Taylor  and  others  even  set  forth  the 
propitiatory  character  of  the  Eucharistic  Sacri- 
fice— "  It  follows  then  that  the  celebration  of 
this  sacrifice  be  in  its  proportion  an  instrument 
of  applying  the  proper  sacrifice  to  all  the 
purposes  which  it  first  designed  ;  it  is  minis- 
terially and  by  application  an  instrument 
propitiatory."  ^    Bishop  William  Forbes,  also  a 

1  Works,  ii.  328. 

2  The  Worthy  Communicant,  Loud.  1853,  p.  383. 

3  The  Great  Ejcemplar,  Loud.  1841)^  iii.  715. 


( 


112  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

follower  of  Laud,  held  that  not  only  is  the 
Eucharist  propitiatory,  but  that  "the  Lord's 
Body  can  be  offered  in  the  aforesaid  manner 
for  the  forgiveness  of  the  sins  which  are  daily 
committed  by  us ;  "  ^  and  he  adds  that  the 
Eucharist  is  "  also  in  a  sound  sense  propitiatory, 
and  is  profitable  not  only  to  very  many  of  the 
living,  but  of  the  departed  also."^  In  short, 
the  teaching  of  the  Laudian  reformers  may 
be  summed  up  in  the  words  of  Bramhall,  who 
asserted  that,  "  Abate  us  Transubstantiation, 
and  those  things  which  are  consequents  of 
their  determination  of  the  manner  of  Pre- 
sence, and  we  have  no  difference  with  them 
(the  Romanists)  in  this  particular.^  In  other 
words,  the  scholastic  eajplanation  of  the  doc- 
trine excepted,  England  and  Rome  are  at 
one  in  their  belief  concerning  the  doctrine  of 
the  real  Presence.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
but  fair  to  state  that,  in  the  re-action  from 
Scholasticism,  certain  of  the  Caroline  divines 
were  at  times  somewhat  \'ague,  and  in  their 
laudable  desire  to  emphasize  the  virtus  sacra- 
menti,  or  benefit  of  communion,  they  tended 
in  the  direction  of  the  virtual  theory  of  the 
Presence,  l^ut  if  we  contrast  the  teaching  of 
many  of  the  "  reformers,"  and  above  all  their 

'  ConHidcrntiones  Modrsia',  Oxford^  UJ.'iG,  ii.  007. 

^  Ibid.  p.  013.  '   Works,  iii.  1G5. 


RE- ACTION  TOWARDS  CxVTHOLIC  BELIEF  113 

actions,  with  those  of  the  followers  of  Laud, 
the  difference  is  fundamental. 

The  Church's  claim  to  forgive,  in  God's  \ 
name,  the  sins  of  the  penitent— the  power  of 
Absolution  committed  to  her  by  Jesus  Christ 
— was  openly  preached  by  the  Laudian  divines ; 
and,  fi'om  contemporary  accounts,  we  gather 
that  the  practice  of  private  confession  to  the 
priest  was  fairly  widespread.  Confession  is 
mentioned  in  the  Visitation  Articles  of  Mon- 
tague, Juxon,  and  other  bishops  of  the 
period ;  and  it  is  frequently  referred  to  in 
contemporary  biographies. 

With  a  fuller  apprehension  of  the  Mystery 
of  the  Incarnation,  as  the  result  of  a  deeper 
study  of  ancient  Catholic  theology,  there  of 
necessity  followed  a  great  appreciation  of  the 
person  and  office  of  St.  Mary  in  the  economy 
of  grace — greater  perhaps  than  we  find  in  the 
Anglican  Communion  at  the  present  time. 
To-day  her  image  uncTOtv?ied  is  set  up  in  St. 
Paul's  cathedral ;  in  the  days  of  Laud  it  was 
set  up  crowned  over  the  portal  of  the  Uni- 
versity church  of  Oxford,  and  this  with  the 
approval  of  the  Archbishop  himself,  who  was 
then  Chancellor  of  the  University.  The  rever- 
ential devotion  towards  the  JNIother  of  oiu* 
I^ord  is  a  striking  attribute  of  many  of  the 
writers  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Even  a 
8 


114  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

divine  so  moderate  in  his  theological  views  as 
Bishop  Hall  exclaims  :  "  O  blessed  JVIary  !  he 
camiot  bless  thee,  he  cannot  honour  thee  too 
much,  that  deifies  thee  not."^  Henry  Burton, 
a  sturdy  Puritan  was,  from  his  point  of  ^dew, 
consistently  scandalized  by  the  publication  of 
a  book.  The  Femall  Glory ,  or  the  life  and 
death  of  our  Blessed  Lady,  the  Holy  Mary^ 
God's  own  Immaculate  Mother.  This  remark- 
able book  is  an  original  Anghcan  work,  and 
not  an  adaption  from  Roman  sources,  and  its 
author  was  a  layman,  "Anthony  Stafford, 
Gent."  as  he  styles  himself,  a  member  of  the 
University  of  Oxford.  He  begins  with  several 
panegyrics  in  verse  upon  St.  JNIary,  and  then 
goes  on — not  without  some  learning,  pagan 
and  Christian — to  give  a  history  of  her  life. 
In  the  quaint  and  florid  language  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  he  enlarges  upon  her  unique 
glory,  and  the  lionoiu*  due  to  her.  There  is  a 
chapter  upon  her  Assumption ;  and,  of  the 
men  of  his  day,  he  says,  "till  they  are  good 
JNIarians,  they  shall  never  be  good  Christians."  ^ 
For  assailing  this  work  in  a  sermon.  Burton 
was  censured  by  the  Star  Chamber ;  whilst 
Laud  commanded  Heylin,  his  chaplain,  to 
answer   Burton's    bitter   criticism.     The  con- 

'  Contcmplatlnns,  iii.  2.^,  24. 

2  The  Femall  Glory,  Loud.  18G9,  p.  170. 


RE-ACTION  TOWARDS  CATHOLIC  BELIEF  115 

demritation  of  Burton  for  attacking  the  book 
formed  one  of  Prynne's  charges  against  the 
Archbishop.  It  is  also  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  the  Puritan  party  condemned  Bishop 
INlontague's  Apello  Cccsarem,  a  clever,  though 
perhaps  satirical  attack  upon  their  system,  and 
a  setting  forth  of  wliat  would  nowadays  be 
called  "  advanced  High  Church "  doctrines. 
This  book  was  submitted  to  Laud  and  four 
other  bishops,  and  their  verdict  was  that 
Montague  "had  not  affirmed  anything  to  be 
the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England, 
but  that  which  in  our  opinions  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  Church  of  England,  or  agreeable  there- 
unto."^ Another  important  Laudian  book  of 
considerable  research  and  learning  is  the  post- 
humous work  of  William  Forbes,  Bishop  of 
Edinburgh,  Considerationes  Modestoe,  in  which 
he  did  his  best  towards  healing  the  divisions 
then  existing  amongst  Christians.  Its  theo- 
logical position  is  even  more  pronounced  than 
that  of  Montague's  book. 

Cosin's  devotional  handbook,  A  Collection  of 
private  devotions  in  the  practice  of  the  Ancient 
Church  called  the  Hours  of  Prayer,  published 
in  1627,  must  not  be  passed  over.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  when  the 
French  ladies-in-waiting  in  the  train  of  Queen 

^  Maccoll,  Lawlessnesa  .  .  .  ,  Loud.  1875,  p.  319. 


116  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

Henrietta  INIaria  formed  part  of  the  English 
Court,  it  was  noticed  that  some  of  their  number 
were  provided  with  books  of  Hours,  and  other 
w^orks  of  devotion,  which  they  used  at  cer- 
tain times  during  the  day.  The  example  of 
these  ladies  stimulated  a  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  more  devout  English  courtiers  for  similar 
books  of  an  Anglican  type.  This  want  was 
supplied  by  John  Cosin,  a  prominent  figure 
amongst  Laudian  divines,  by  the  publication 
of  his  book  of  devotions,  which  seems  to  have 
been  taken  partly  from  the  Primer  issued  in 
Elizabeth's  reign,  and  partly  from  ancient 
sources.  This  book  is  interesting  as  a  popular 
manual  of  devotions  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, and  it  passed  through  many  editions.  It 
gave  considerable  offence  to  the  Puritans,  who 
called  it,  "  Cosins  Cousimng  Devotions."  ^  Its 
author,  they  commonly  styled  "  Popish  master 
John." 

The  divine  precept  of  fasting,  and  its  eccle- 
siastical applications,  appears  to  have  been 
widely  kept  in  the  seventeenth  century.  This 
was  also  the  case  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  and 
James,  though  the  State  reason  of  the  en- 
couragement of  the  fisheries  largely  helped  the 
a))stincnce  from  flesh-meat  on  days  of  fasting. 
The   fast  before  Communion  was,  from  con- 

1  Evelyn's  Diary,  Loud.  \^1\i,  \).  214. 


RE-ACTION  TOWxVRDS  CATHOLIC  BELIEF  117 

temporary  evidence,  well  observed  ;  no  doubt, 
far  more  strictly  than  it  is  at  the  present  day. 
Fasting  Communion  is  constantly  inculcated 
in  Caroline  books  of  devotion,  and  other  similar 
writings.  Until  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century  the  meal  called  breakfast,  as  already 
mentioned,  was  almost  unknown ;  the  first 
meal  in  the  day  (except  in  the  case  of  the 
deUcate  and  infirm)  being  dinner,  which  was 
eaten  at  10  or  11  o'clock.  This  fact  caused 
the  observance  of  the  fast  before  Communion 
to  be  an  easy  matter. 

The  mischievous  heresy  of  Solifidianism,  pro- 
pounded by  Luther,  was  ably  refuted  by  the 
Laudian  divines  ;  and  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul 
was  balanced  by  that  of  St.  James.  To  depre- 
ciate good  works  was  admirably  consistent  on 
the  part  of  some  of  those  whose  good  works 
were  a  negligible  quantity !  But  now  that  a  , 
return  was  being  made  to  Catholic  doctrine 
and  practice,  a  corresponding  increase  in  godli- 
ness and  piety  took  place.  The  bishops  and 
clergy  of  the  Laudian  era  doubtless  had  their 
faults,  but  in  vain  do  we  look  for  a  Poynet  or 
a  Holgate  amongst  them.  A  different  concept 
tion  of  the  Christian  ministry  was  set  forth, 
the  Protestant  idea  of  the  mere  Preacher  giving^ 
way  to  the  Catholic  idea  of  the  Priest.  Whilst  I 
the  wise  permission  to  the  clergy  to  marry. 


118  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

"  as  they  shall  judge  the  same  to  serve  better 
to  godUness,"  ^  was  maintained ;  yet,  at  the  same 
time,  the  teaching  of  the  Church  as  to  the 
virgin-state  being  the  more  excellent  way 
was  not  lost  sight  of,  and  the  voluntary  celi- 
bacy of  ilie_j^ergy_jw^^sencoura^  Laud's 
own  views  are  relatedto  usHby  Heylin,  who 
says : — 

"  He  was  a  single  man  himself  and  wished 
perhaps  as  St.  Paul  once  did,  That  all  men 
else  (that  is  to  say,  all  men  in  Holy  Ordei^s) 
would  remain  so  likewise.  And  some  occasion 
being  offered  at  that  time  to  speak  about  the 
conveniences  or  inconveniences  of  a  married 
Clergy,  he  made  some  declaration  of  himself 
to  this  effect,  that  in  disposing  of  all  Ecclesias- 
tical Promotions  he  would  prefer  the  single  man 
before  the  married,  supposing  the  abilities  of 
the  persons  were  otherwise  equal."  ^  On  the 
other  hand,  he  was  quite  loyal  to  the  Article, 
and  on  one  occasion  officiated  personally,  in 
the  Chapel  of  London  House,  at  the  marriage 
of  one  of  his  chaplains. 

Tlie  Laudian  movement  seems  to  have 
raised  the  whole  tone  of  the  ecclesiastical  state. 
Tlie  ordinary  parochial  clergy  since  the  Reform- 
ation appear  to  have  been  a  despised  order  in 
the    eyes   of  tlie    laity — the    bishops    "  made 

»  Article  XXXII.  2  Heylin,  p.  212. 


RE- ACTION  TOWAUDS  CATHOLIC  BELIEF  119 

priests  of  the  lowest  of  the  people,"  but  now 
in  the  ranks  of  the  clergy  all  classes  were 
represented.  IMen  of  birth,  learning,  and 
wealth  were  to  be  found,  who  sought  the 
priesthood  in  response  to  a  divine  vocation. 
For  instance,  we  have  tlie  spectacle  of  a 
cultured  and  refined  gentleman  like  George 
Herbert,  voluntarily  surrendering  the  prospects 
of  a  brilliant  career  at  Coin^t,  in  order  to  become 
the  humble  parish-priest  of  a  Wiltshire  village. 
It  was  Laud's  personal  influence  that  finally 
decided  him  to  take  this  step.^  We  must  also 
not  omit  to  mention  how  Nicholas  Ferrar,  a 
prosperous  city  merchant,  gave  up  all  worldly 
hopes  and  interests,  and  retired  to  an  obscure 
Huntingdonshire  manor-house,  where  he 
founded  a  semi-monastic  society,  consisting  of 
his  mother,  his  nieces  and  other  relatives.  Here 
he  acted  as  chaplain  to  this  little  community, 
in  which  a  holy  life  of  prayer  and  devotion, 
blended  with  practical  philanthropy,  was  spent, 
till  the  place  was  sacked  by  Cromwell's  brutal 
soldiery,  and  the  inmates  dispersed.  Little 
Gidding  is  to-day  familiar  to  many,  from  the 
exquisite  account  of  the  place  and  its  inmates 
given  in  the  pages  of  that  great  historical 
romance  John  Inglesant. 

1  Izaak  Waltoii;,   Life  of  Mr.   George  Herbert.   Lond.    18GG, 
p.  274. 


120  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

Such  examples  of  self-surrender  are  the  fruits 
rather  of  a  Catholic,  than  a  Protestant  type  of 
piety  ;  and,  from  what  we  know  of  the  Laudian 
reformation,  a  remarkable  ourpouring  of  the 
spirit  of  the  heroic  virtues  seems  quietly  to 
have  taken  place  in  England  at  this  time,  both 
amongst  the  clergy  and  laity ;  opposite  to  the 
rapacity  and  godlessness  which  was  common  in 
the  preceding  age. 

In  the  matter  of  theological  learning  the 
Movement  produced  a  school  of  divines  in 
the  English  Church  that  has,  perhaps,  never 
been  surpassed.  If  we  take  the  period,  roughly 
speaking,  as  beginnmg  wdth  Hooker,  and  ex- 
tending through  the  seventeenth  century,  it 
includes  such  masters  as  Andrewes,  Overall, 
Laud,  Hammond,  Forbes,  Thorndike,  Cosin, 
Bramhall,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Sparrow,  Sanderson, 
Pearson,  and  others.  Never  perhaps  has  such 
a  galaxy  of  theologians  existed  together,  so  that 
a  foreign  divine  was  compelled  to  exclaim, 
Clerus  AngUcanus  stupoi'  mundi! 

We  have  already  alluded  to  much  of  Laud's 
reforming  work  in  a  preceding  chapter.  The 
JMctropolitical  visitation,  witli  its  reverent 
ordering  of  the  worship  of  God  in  cathedrals 
and  parish  chin-ches,  and  the  efforts  which 
were  tlicn  made  to  raise  the  tone  of  the  lives 
of  the  clergy,  was  distinctly  a  work  of  relbrm. 


CEREMONIAL   REFORMATION  121 

The  same  may  be  said  of  Laud's  endeavours  to 
improve  Anglican  church-services  abroad,  in 
the  colonies,  and  in  the  army  and  navy.  The 
action  of  the  Court  of  High  Commission 
in  punishing  open  and  notorious  evil-livers, 
however  closely  we  may  criticize  the  means 
employed,  was  certainly  a  work  of  moral  re- 
formation. These  matters  have  been  already 
referred  to. 

We  must  now  pass  on  to  describe  in  more 
detail  the  reformation  in  the  ceremonial  of  the 
Church,  which  was  carried  out  under  Laud. 
When  a  return  was  made  to  the  "  old  paths  " 
in  doctrine,  it  necessarily  followed  that  a 
return  should  also  be  made  in  ceremonial 
which  is  the  outward  expression  of  doctrine. 
The  Holy  Table,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
removed  to  its  ancient  site  at  the  east  end 
of  the  church,  and  placed  altar-wise,  and 
commonly  described  as  the  Altar.  The  use  i 
of  altar-lights,  wafer-bread,  and  the  mixed 
chalice,  seems  to  have  been  fairly  widespread, 
and  incense  was  not  uncommon.  In  some 
churches,  an  altar-cross  was  to  be  seen. 
Sacred  pictures  and  statuary  were  again  set  ( 
up  in  churches.  The  use  of  the  surplice  be- 
came universal.  Copes  were  worn  in  nearly  all 
cathedrals,  and  in  some  parish  churches.  As 
to   the    Eucharistic   vestments,   we   have   no 


122  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

explicit  evidence  that  they  were  actually  used, 
although  one  of  the  copes  at  Durham  Cathedral, 
which  had  upon  it  "  the  story  of  tlie  Passion," 
may  possibly  have  been  a  full-shaped  chasuble.^ 
^The  reverent  custom  of  bowing  towards  the 
j altar  was  widely  observed,  and  the  primitive 
usage  of  making  the  sign  ot  the  cross  in  daily 
life  seems  to  have  been  common.  At  Durham 
we  hear  of  the  Eucharist  being  chorally  rend- 
ered 2  and  of  non-communicants  being  present.^ 
An  extract  fi'om  a  scurrilous  sermon  preached 
by  Peter  Smart,  prebendary  of  Durham,  may 
be  quoted  to  show  what  a  militant  Puritan  of 
the  day  thought  of  the  ceremonial  of  the 
Church — 

Before,  we  had  ministers,  as  the  Scripture  calls  them, 
we  had  Communion-tables,  we  had  sacraments ;  but 
now  we  have  priests,  and  sacrifices,  and  altars,  with 
much  altar  furniture  and  many  massing  implements. 
...  If  religion  consist  in  altar  decking,  cope 
wearing,  organ  playing,  pijiing  and  singing,  cross- 
ing of  cushions  and  kissing  of  clouts,  oft  sbu'ting  up 
and  squatting  down,  nodding  of  heads,  and  whirling 
about  till  their  noses  stand  eastwai'd,  setting  basins  on 
tlie  altar,  candlesticks,  and  crucifixes,  burning  wax 
candles  in  excessive  number  when  and  where  there  is 

'  JTierurffin  Aru/linnut,  Loud.  1003, cd.  Staley,  Pt.  11.229,230. 

^  Arliclrx  of  tlii'  CiDuinons  .  .  .  Kjiim  flic  ronijihiint  of  I'rtcr 
Smfiff,iii/iiiiis/  John  Cosin,  pp.  7-10,  qii.  Ilirr.  Ann/if.,  I't.  11.  p.  225. 
See  also  Tvntimonji  of  li.  Ilntvlunsnn  .  ,  .  qii.  Hiid.  p.  227- 

•' vl  rfiftt/otpif  of  xuiirrxtifioiix  in}} ovations  In'oiiijlit  info  DiO'ham 
cat  heel  )-ul,  pp.  10^  2»,  (ju.  Ihid.  Vt.  III.  p.  317. 


CEREMONIAL  REFORMATION  123 

no  use  of  lights  ;  and  what  is  worst  of  all^  gilding  of 
angelsj  and  garnishing  of  images^  and  setting  them 
aloft  ...  if,  I  say^  religion  consist  in  these  and  such 
like  superstitious  vanities^  ceremonial  fooleries^  apish 
toys,  and  popish  trinkets,  we  had  never  more  religion 
than  now.i 

This  worthy  seems  naturally  to  have  been  a 
thorn  in  the  flesh  to  the  Chapter,  and  the 
result  of  this  pulpit  eloquence  was  that  he  was 
summarily  deposed  from  his  office. 

It  is  interesting  also  to  note  the  return 
that  was  made  to  mediaeval  architecture.  All 
students  of  architecture  are  familiar  with  the 
excellent  examples  erected  in  Laud's  time,^ 
such  as  parts  of  the  chapel  of  Jesus  College, 
Oxford,  and  the  chapel  of  Exeter  College, 
the  latter  now,  alas,  no  more,  thanks  to  the 
vandalism  of  the  Victorian  era — an  age,  it  has 
been  said,  more  destructive  than  the  ages 
of  the  "  reformers "  and  Puritans  combined. 
What  is  even  more  interesting  is  that  in 
many  of  the  churches  of  this  period,  a  return 
was  made  to  ancient  usage  in  dividing  the 
chancel  from  the  nave  by  a  rood-screen,  and 
erecting  stalls  in  the  chancel  for  the  clergy 
and  other  ministers. 

^  Sermon  by  Peter  Smart,  pp.  11,  23,  24,  qu.  Hier.  Anglic,  I.  75. 

2  It  must  not  be  fori^otteu  however  that  in  the  reij^-n  of  James 
1.  there  was  a  revival  of  Gothic  architecture,  which  produced  such 
exquisite  buildings  as  those  of  Wadham  College,  Oxford. 


124  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Looking  back  upon  the  Laudian  Reform- 
ation, when  we  read  the  records  of  the  theo- 
logical beliefs  of  the  leaders  of  the  movement 
which  are  preserved  to  us,  and  the  somewhat 
scanty  accounts  of  the  ceremonial  revived  by 
them,  we  must  bear  in  mmd  the  numbers  of 
clergy  and  laity  who  doubtless  followed  them  in 
instances  of  which  we  have  no  record. 

Before  bringing  this  chapter  to  a  close, 
reference  must  briefly  be  made  to  what  may 
be  called  the  limitations  or  imperfections  of 
Laud's  reformation.  In  the  first  place,  when 
we  consider  the  ^\Titings  of  Laud  and  his 
school,  we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact 
that  they  often  fail  to  take  a  Catholic  view 
of  the  English  Church.  Her  sad  isolation 
from  the  rest  of  Catholic  Christendom  was 
hardly  realized.  Not  much  in  those  days  was 
known  about  the  Eastern  Church,  and  owing 
to  the  comparatively  recent  excesses  of  the 
Romanensian  party  in  the  Church  of  England 
in  INIary's  reign,  and  such  horrors  as  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  day  abroad, 
English  Churclimen  in  the  seventeenth  century 
were  apt  to  magnify  the  differences  between 
England  and  Rome.  The  result  was  that 
their  conception  of  tlic  English  Church  was 
ollcn  one  of  the  narrowest  insularity. 

In  the  matter  of  the  relation  of  the  Church 


LIMITS   OF  LAUD'S   REFORMATION     125 

to  the  State,  Laud  made  immense  use  of  the 
Crown  in  causing  it  to  issue  Proclamations  for 
the  due  ordering  and  reformation  of  the  Church. 
The  Regale,  in  those  days  when  a  devoted  son 
of  the  Church  happened  to  occupy  the  throne, 
was  a  powerful  weapon  to  fight  the  Church's 
battles ;  and  Laud  used  it  to  the  full.  He 
acted  much  like  the  modern  vicar,  who  rehes 
upon  the  power  of  the  squire  of  his  parish, 
who  happens  to  be  a  good  Churchman.  Yet 
Laud  was  no  Erastian,  no  one  held  stronger 
or  clearer  views  on  spiritual  authority  than  he 
did.  "  JNIy  order  as  a  Bishop,  and  my  power 
of  Jurisdiction  is  by  Divine  Apostohcal  right, 
and  unalterable,  for  aught  I  know,  in  the  Church 
of  Christ."^  Dr.  Bright  has  very  accurately 
stated  Laud's  position  in  this  matter,  when  he 
writes,  "  Although  the  very  reverse  of  an  \ 
Erastian,  he  exaggerated  the  royal  supremacy  ' 
in  Church  matters  as  a  convenient  instrument  i 
for  his  purpose. "  ^  We  cannot  approve  of  Laud's  / 
pohcy  of  conferring  upon  prelates  great  offices/ 
of  the  State,  as  he  did,  for  instance,  in  causing 
Juxon  to  be  made  Lord  Treasurer,  and  Spottis- 
woode  Chancellor  of  Scotland.  One  is  certainly 
astonished  at  the  exclamation  that  he  made  in 
the  former  case,  "  Now,  if  the  Church  will  not! 

1  Laud's  Works,  iii.  406. 

2  Bright,  Waymurka  in  Church  History,  Loud.  1894^  p.  349. 


126  LIFE   OF  WILLI  AIM   LAUD 

hold  up  themselves  under  God,  I  can  do  no 
more."^ 

Another  serious  fault  in  the  Laudian  Re- 
formation was  that,  to  a  great  extent,  it  came 
from  above  ;  the  mo\'ement  was  furthered  by 
bishops  and  dignitaries,  rather  than  by  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  clergy,  who  were  largely 
on  the  Puritan  side.^  JNlozley,  in  criticizing 
this  fault  in  the  movement,  points  out  the  fact 
that  Laud  had  to  deal  with  a  superhuman 
difficulty,  a  Church  that  was  thoroughly 
Puritanized  ;  and  he  says,  "  the  age  was  set 
one  way,  and  he  took  perhaps  the  only  engine 
there  was  for  him."  ^  Another  matter  in  which 
fault  may  be  found  is  that  Laud's  movement 
was  largely  centralized  in  himself  It  can 
hardly  be  said  that  he  was  primus  inter  pares 
in  relation  to  his  brethren  in  the  episcopate ; 
but  here  again  the  exigencies  of  the  time 
must  be  taken  into  account,  for  had  he  acted 
as  a  modern  English  Primate  his  reforms  could 
never  have  been  carried  out.  Again,  owing  to 
the  upheaval  of  the  Great  Rebellion,  the  pro- 
gress of  Laud's  work  was  suddenly  checked, 

'   L;iU(l'.s  Works  (Diary),  iii.  220. 

^  For  a  comparison  between  the  Laudian  and  the  Oxford 
Movements,  see  Dr.  Neale's  interestinf^  article  on  the  subject 
in  Jiis  lA'cturrs  on  Church  Difficulties,  \)yi.  1(;[J-18(».  It  must  ho 
confessed,  liowevor,  tiiat  the  iearned  writer  soems  hardly  fair  as 
regards  the  Laudian  Movement. 

^  Esisuys  Uidorical  and  Theological,  Lond.  1878,  i.  22G. 


LIMITS   OF  LxVUD'S   REFORMATION      127 

and  although  it  was  carried  on  at  the  Restora- 
tion, yet  much  was  left  for  the  Oxford  JNIove- 
ment  to  effect.  For  instance,  the  Laudian 
divines  taught  that  the  Eucharist  was  the 
great  Christian  service,^  and  they  longed  for 
more  frequent,  and  even  for  daily  celebrations 
of  the  Eucharist.2  So  again  the  full  ceremonial 
of  the  Church,  implied  in  the  Ornaments 
Rubric,  w^as  left  for  the  nineteenth  century  to 
restore. 

The  history  of  the  English  Church  in  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  may  per- 
haps be  best  described  as  similar  to  that  of  an 
unfortunate  sufferer,  subjected  to  the  treatment 
of  various  quack  physicians.  Eventually,  how- 
ever, these  persons  are  sent  about  their  business, 
and  a  skilled  and  qualified  doctor  is  called  in. 
The  patient  greatly  improves  ;  but  so  grievous 
are  the  results  of  his  former  treatment,  that 
restoration  to  perfect  health  is  not  to  be 
attained.  The  evils  of  the  Edwardian  and 
Elizabethan  days  were  so  serious,  that  even 
Laud  could  not  effect  a  complete  cure. 

1  Thonidike,  Works,  Oxford,  1844,  i.  274. 

2  See  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor's  passionate  yearning  for  the  daily 
celebration  expressed  in  The  Great  Exemplar,  Lond.  1849,  iii.  725. 
AVliilst  Hayward,  Bisliop  Overall's  chaplain,  said,  "  Better  were 
it  to  endure  the  absence  of  tlie  peo|)le,  than  for  the  minister  to 
neglect  the  usual  and  daily  sacrifice  of  the  C'hurch,  by  which  all 
people,  whether  they  be  there  or  no,  reap  so  much  benefit ;  and 
this  was  the  opinion  of  my  lord  and  master,  Dr.  Overall." — Qu. 
Cosiu's  Works,  V.  127. 


128  LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

Such  is  a  brief  account  of  Laud's  work  as  a 
Reformer, — a  constructive  work  of  which  the 
foundations  may  be  said  to  have  been  laid  by 
Hooker  and  others,  but  which  needed  a  man 
of  Laud's  strong  personality,  fearless  courage, 
and  higher  position  to  carry  into  full  effect. 


CHAPTER  VI 

LAUD:    PRIVATE  AND   DEVOTIONAL   LIFE 

PORTRAITS  OF  LAUD — "  ALWAYS  AILING,  NEVER 

failing" SIMPLICITY  OF  HIS  HOME-LIFE 

KINDNESS  TO  DEPENDENTS — ATTITUDE  TO- 
WARDS RECREATIONS PROMOTES  SPIRITUAL- 
ITY    AMONGST     THE     CLERGY LAUD     AND 

FERRAR   THE    YOUNGER 

Whilst  we  know  much  about  the  outward 
life,  aims  and  opinions,  of  historical  characters, 
not  SO  much  is  known  of  their  inner  life 
and  personal  religion.  William  Laud  is  no 
exception  to  this  rule.  But  thanks  to  certain 
passages  in  his  Diary,  and  History  of  his 
Troubles,  and  to  Heylin's  account  of  his  life, 
and  also  to  Laud's  Devotions,  we  can  gather 
some  fragments,  and,  so  to  speak,  piece  them 
together. 

Like  most  men  of  mark  who  have  lived 

during  the  past  three  or  four  hundred  years, 

Laud's  portrait  remains  to  show  what  manner 

of  man  he  was  outwardly.     There  are  several 

9  129 


130  LIFE   OF  AVILLIAM   LAUD 

paintings  of  undoubted  excellence  existing, 
the  work  of  Vandyke  and  other  great  masters. 
Laud  seems  to  have  been  short  of  stature, 
with  almost  delicately-made  features.  His 
eyes  are  keen  and  piercing,  his  forehead  is 
good.  He  wears  the  trim  pointed  beard  and 
moustache  of  many  great  prelates  of  the  day, 
not  only  in  England,  but  also  abroad,  as  the 
familiar  pictures  of  Riclielieu  and  others  re- 
mind us.  His  hair  is  closely  cut.  He  wears 
a  rochet  and  scarf,  and  upon  his  head  the 
soft  square  cap  of  the  period.  His  face  shows 
energy,  activity  and  determination,  there  is 
an  intellectual  acuteness  about  it,  and  it  is 
not  without  an  expression  of  kindliness. 

As  has  been  already  observed.  Laud  suffered 
as  a  child  from  delicacy  of  health,  which  never 
left  him.  In  after  life  he  was  constantly 
unwell ;  and  yet  his  pluck  and  spirit  were  so 
great,  that  the  amount  of  work  he  accom- 
plished would  have  done  credit  to  the  strongest 
of  men.  Of  him,  it  has  been  well  said  that 
he  was  "  always  ailing  and  never  failing,"  that 
he  had  in  short,  "  a  vigorous,  obstinate,  indoors 
constitution."^  When  we  consider  that,  in 
addition  to  his  episcopal  duties,  he  combined 
the  office  of  being  Chancellor  to  two  uni- 
versities with  that  of  being  virtually  Prime 

'  Moziey,  Exfidi/.s-  Jlhtoricul  and  Thcoioyicul,  Loud.  1870)  I.  111. 


'  ALWAYS   AILING,  NEVER  FAILING  '      131 

Minister ;  and  when  we  remember  that  his  work 
as  bishop,  and  afterwards  as  archbishop,  was 
carried  out  with  conscientious  thoroughness ; 
it  must  be  confessed  that  his  hfe  had  much 
of  the  busy  character  of  a  hardworking 
twentieth  century  bishop  of  London  or  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  If  we  compare  Laud's 
Hfe  and  work  with  that  of  many  of  the  bishops 
of  the  age  preceding  him,  who  unblushiugly 
sought  the  advancement  of  themselves  and 
their  relations,  who  carefully  feathered  their 
own  nests  with  the  patrimony  of  the  Church, 
who  were  conveniently  servile  and  complaisant 
to  those  in  authority — if  we  compare  Laud's 
life  and  work  with  theirs,  the  contrast  is  great. 
However  mistaken  Laud's  opponents  may 
hold  him  to  have  been,  they  are  constrained  to 
acknowledge  his  unselfishness  and  the  loftiness 
of  his  character.  Even  though  men  may  hold 
Laud's  beliefs  to  have  been  erroneous  and  his 
aims  mistaken,  they  must  admit  his  single- 
mindedness.  For  the  advancement  of  the 
Church's  best  interests  Laud  surrendered  much 
that  this  world  counts  dear,  he  led  a  life  of 
incessant  labour,  and  followed  a  course  that 
exposed  him  to  enmity.  While  he  was  muni- 
ficent in  his  charities  and  benefactions,  he 
seems  to  have  spent  little  on  himself  He  chose 
the   unmarried   state  with   its   freedom   from 


132  LIFE    OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

domestic  cares  and  its  greater  opportunities 
for  self-surrender,  but  with  its  often  accom- 
panying loneliness  and  isolation.  His  liome 
life  was  singularly  simple,  and  his  mode  of 
living  was  almost  ascetic.  The  Church's 
ordered  round  of  worship  was  carefully  ob- 
served in  his  chapel.  The  fasts  and  festivals 
were  faithfully  observed.  He  laboured  on 
without  ceasing,  under  stress  of  continual 
bodily  sickness  and  infirmity.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  small  number  of  personal  friends 
and  followers,  there  were  few  around  him 
upon  whom  he  could  rely.  As  to  his  recrea- 
tion, it  seems  to  have  centred  chiefly  in  his 
books ;  and  like  many  a  man  his  diary  was 
a  solace  to  him.  His  life  though  very  busy 
was  largely  sedentary,  and  we  find  him  swing- 
ing books  by  way  of  exercise.  He  appears 
to  have  spent  much  time  in  fine  weather  in 
his  garden.  Riding  on  horseback  was  more 
common  in  the  seventeenth  century  than  it 
is  now,  and  at  times  he  used  to  ride.  Every- 
thing about  his  life,  one  may  say,  was  arranged 
in  subservience  to  the  advancement  of  a  great 
cause.  And,  as  is  often  the  case,  this  single- 
mindcdness  liad  its  reward  in  the  remarkable 
change  whicli  largely  througli  his  efforts 
passed  over  the  English  Church, — a  cliange 
affecting   not   only   lier   outward   appearance, 


KINDNESS   TO   DEPENDENTS  133 

but  her  very  soul,  a  cliaiige,  moreover,  which 
survived  the  Great  llebeUion  and  has  its 
fruits  in  the  present  day. 

Yet  we  must  not  look  upon  Laud  as  a 
man  of  cast-iron  rigour,  or  a  mere  dictator  of 
an  ecclesiastical  policy,  as  has  sometimes  been 
done  by  those  who  have  not  fully  understood 
him.  The  human  side  of  his  character  was 
indeed  no  negligible  quantity.  His  affection 
for  his  sovereign  was  very  real,  so  was  also 
the  friendship  that  he  bore  to  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham  and  to  the  Earl  of  Strafford — 
characters  very  different  from  his  own.  The 
treatment  that  a  man  bestows  upon  his  de- 
pendents is  good  indication  of  his  disposition. 
To  his  servants  Laud  was  ever  a  kind  master. 
In  his  Diary  we  meet  with  ample  proofs  of 
this.  Adam  Torless,  his  steward  and  right- 
hand  man,  is  mentioned  several  times,  and 
his  death  is  touchingly  referred  to — "  Thursday, 
September  23,  1641,  INIr.  Adam  Torless  my 
ancient,  loving  and  faithful  servant,  and  then 
my  steward,  after  he  had  served  me  full  forty 
and  two  years,  died  to  my  great  both  loss 
and  grief.  For  all  my  accounts  since  my 
commitment  were  in  his  hands ;  and  had  he 
not  been  a  very  honest  and  careful  man,  I 
must  have  suffered  much  more  than  I  did ; 
yet  I  suffered  enough  besides  the  loss  of  his 


134  LIFE   OF  AVILLIAM  LAUD 

person  who  was  now  become  almost  the  only 
comfort  of  my  affliction,  and  my  age."^  On 
October  26  (1634)  when  staying  at  Hampton 
Court,  Laud  dreams  that  his  servant  William 
Pemiell  is  ill  at  Croydon.  He  at  once  rises, 
orders  his  coach,  drives  off,  finds  the  dream 
to  be  true,  and  is  just  in  time  to  commend 
the  poor  man's  soul  to  God.^  Where  Laud 
was  intimately  known,  he  appears  to  have  been 
sincerely  beloved,  as  he  was  by  the  poor  who 
lived  near  him  at  Lambeth.  Laud's  kindh- 
ness  is  also  shown  when  a  young  man,  JNIr. 
Hyde  (afterwards  Lord  Clarendon),  ventured 
to  call  upon  him,  and  with  youthful  presump- 
tion to  act  the  part  of  the  "  candid  friend " 
towards  the  aged  Primate ;  informing  him, 
as  they  walked  in  the  garden,  how  he  was 
evil  spoken  of  throughout  the  land,  and  how 
his  blunt  speech  was  causing  him  to  be  dis- 
liked. Laud  listened  patiently  to  all  that 
the  young  man  had  to  say,  and  then  with  true 
hinnility  admitted  that  at  times  he  was  hasty 
and  often  spoke  in  a  way  that  he  afterwards 
regretted.  Dr.  Gardiner  speaks  of  Laud's 
personal  kindness,  which  sometimes  underlay 
his   official    severity   in    the   Star   Chamber.^ 

1  Laud's  Worloi  (Troultlcs),  Oxford  11J53,  iii.  Ud. 

2  Jhuf.  p.  224. 

3  Gardiner,  in  JJid.  Xat.  Biog.,  xxxii.  190  sub  "Laud." 


LAUD'S   CHARACTER  135 

That  he  was  quick  tempered  and  spoke  im- 
pulsively is  indeed  true — and  no  one  grieved 
over  this  fault  more  than  himself — but  it  by 
no  means  follows  that  he  was  cruel  and 
unfeeling,  as  some  writers  have  striven  to 
maintain.  When  Prynne  wrote  a  libellous 
letter  to  Laud  after  his  condemnation  in  the 
Star  Chamber,  Noye  the  Attorney  General 
wished  that  he  should  be  forbidden  pen  and 
ink  in  his  imprisonment ;  but  Laud  would 
would  not  hear  of  such  a  proposal,  and  insisted 
also  that  his  books  should  be  given  to  him. 
His  magnanimity  towards  his  great  opponent, 
Williams,  is  noticeable.  Of  all  Laud's  foes 
Williams  seems  to  have  been  the  most  danger- 
ous, because  he  was  the  most  unprincipled.  At 
one  time  Williams  got  into  a  serious  difficidty 
in  a  matter  concerning  the  State.  He  was 
charged  before  the  Star  Chamber  with  reveal- 
ing secrets,  contrary  to  his  oath  as  Privy 
Councillor.  Laud  had  his  foe  at  his  feet,  but 
instead  of  taking  advantage  of  this,  he  went, 
as  he  says  in  his  Diary,  "  five  several  times 
on  my  knees  to  the  King  my  Master "  in 
order  to  obtain  his  pardon.^  A  harsh  and 
narrow-minded  man,  as  some  have  imagined 
Laud  to  have  been,  would  certainly  not  have 
taken   such   a   tolerant    line   on   the   Sunday 

1  Laud's  Works  (Speeches),  VI.  i.  73. 


136  LIFE   OF   WILIJAM   LAUD 

question  as  he  did,  and  countenanced  harmless 
recreations  on  Sundays  after  divine  service. 
Laud  stood  up  against  a  gloomy  Puritanism 
which  hated  to  see  people  enjoying  themselves, 
just  in  the  same  way  as  in  a  later  age  the 
same  Puritan  spirit  is  said  to  have  tabooed 
fox-hunting,  not  so  much  because  of  the  suffer- 
ing that  it  caused  to  the  poor  fox,  as  of  the 
enjoyment  that  it  afforded  to  the  sportsmen  ! 

At  Oxford,  when  executing  the  office  of 
Chancellor  of  the  University  and  entertaining 
royalty,  the  gi-eat  Prelate  could  unbend  and 
"rejoice  with  them  that  do  re'joice."  In  like 
manner,  in  his  correspondence  with  Strafford, 
we  constantly  come  across  touches  of  quiet 
humour,  and  Heylin  was  right  when  he  said 
of  him  that  he  was  "  one  that  knew  as  well 
how  to  put  off  the  gravity  of  his  place  and 
person,  when  he  saw  occasion,  as  any  man 
living  whatsoever."  1  Laud's  attitude  to  the 
Stage  shows  the  same  liberal  spirit,  in  that 
he  desired  its  reformation,  and  not,  as  the 
Puritans  did,  its  abolition. 

Of  Laud's  position  as  a  theologian  much 
has  been  already  said  in  tlicsc  pages.  It  now 
remains  to  speak  of  his  devotional  life.  To 
regard  him  as  merely  a  great  character  in  the 
history   of   the   English    Church,   is   to   take 

1  Heylin,  p.  608. 


PROMOTES   SPIRITUALITY  137 

a  very  imperfect  view  of  his  life.  The 
pubHcity  to  which  he  was  necessarily  exposed 
has  doubtless  tended  to  throw  the  private 
aspect  of  Laud's  life  into  the  shade,  yet  that 
inner  life  was  very  real.  His  well-known 
book  of  Devotions  reveals  what  manner  of 
man  he  was,  and  even  if  this  work  did 
not  exist  his  Diary  and  the  History  of  his 
Troubles  afford  ample  evidence  that,  in  the 
midst  of  a  round  of  ceaseless  and  strenuous 
public  activity,  he  was  a  man  of  prayer,  whose 
life  was  "hid  with  Christ  in  God."  No  stress 
of  business,  or  pressure  of  work  interfered 
with  this  inner  life :  seven  times  a  day  did  he 
poiu*  out  his  heart  to  God  in  those  prayers 
which  are  preserved  to  us.  In  his  book  of 
Devotions  there  is  even  provision  made  for 
the  silent  hours  of  the  night.  We  also  find 
intercessions  for  all  manner  of  persons  and  for 
divers  occasions — for  the  Church,  the  State, 
the  Khig,  the  sick  and  others.  There  are  also 
prayers  as  to  his  own  faults  and  shortcomings, 
especially  for  the  bridling  of  the  tongue  ;  and 
above  all  there  are  the  penitential  prayers  for 
the  amiiversary  of  his  great  fall  in  solemnizing 
the  "  marriage "  of  the  Earl  of  Devon,  to 
which  allusion  has  already  been  made.  Some 
of  the  devotions  are  taken  from  ancient  sources, 
and  some  from  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 


138  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Nearly  all  are  compiled  from  Holy  Scripture. 
JNIany  of  the  prayers,  such  as  the  prayer  "  for 
enemies,"  breatiie  the  very  highest  Christian 
spirit,  and  show  how  unjust  is  the  accusation 
that  Laud  was  of  an  unforgiving  nature.  The 
prayer  "  for  servants  "  has  the  touching  petition, 
"  ]\Iake  me  ever  willing,  and  in  some  measure 
able  to  repay  unto  them  the  time  and  the 
strength  which  they  either  have  or  shall  spend 
to  do  me  service  "  ^ — another  proof  of  Laud's 
consideration  of  his  dependents. 

Even  Heylin,  his  faithful  disciple  and 
biographer,  to  a  great  extent  overlooks  this 
inner  devotional  life ;  but  it  was  this  that 
supported  Laud  in  his  trials  and  difficulties. 
The  dangers,  for  instance,  which  surrounded 
liim  at  the  Court  of  Charles  I.  were  con- 
siderable. Few  of  those  in  authority  possessed 
either  his  single-heartedness,  or  his  probity. 
Windebank  sadly  lacked  principle,  whilst 
Cottington  was  a  self-seeker.  There  was  also 
the  strong  Roman  influence,  of  which  the 
Queen  was  the  leader,  with  AValter  JNIontague, 
Hamilton  and  others  as  her  heutenants.  Above 
all  the  King  liimself,  who  was  sincerely  devoted 
to  J^aud  and  justly  valued  his  loyalty,  was 
easily  influenced  by  others,  and  was  not  always 
to  be  relied  upon.     Amongst  these  dangers, 

*  The  Devotions  of  Abp.  Laud,  Oxfd.  and  Loud.  10G4,  p.  11. 


LAUD  AND  FERRAR  THE   YOUNGER     139 

some  of  them  beneath  the  surface,  it  needed 
much  circumspection  to  walk,  and  this  could 
only  be  done  by  one  who  continually  relied 
upon  divine  grace. 

It  was   also   Laud's   personal   piety   which 
made  him  labour  not  merely  for  an  orthodox 
and  a  learned   clergy,    but   for   a   spiritually- 
minded  clergy.     That,  by  God's  help,  he  did 
raise  the  tone  of  the  bishops  and  priests  of  his 
day,  no  one  can  deny.     His  influence  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  lives   of   such   men   as  Nicholas 
Ferrar  and  George  Herbert.     He  himself  laid 
his  hands  upon  Ferrar,  ordaining  him  deacon, 
and  he  ever  continued  to  show  his  interest  in 
and   sympathy   with    the    religious   house   at 
Little   Gidding,   where   the   voice   of  prayer 
and   praise   never   ceased.      He   brouglit   the 
community  to   the  notice   of   King   Charles, 
who  visited  it  more  than  once  in  person.     To- 
wards young  Nicholas  Ferrar,  the  nephew  of 
Ferrar,  the  King  showed  great  kindness,  and 
promised  to  take  upon  himself  his  mainten- 
ance at  Oxford.     The  story  of  the  interview 
which  young  Ferrar  had  with  Laud  is  pre- 
served  to   us.     We   are  told,   how,  kneeling 
down,  he  took  the  Archbishop's  hand  in  his 
and  kissed  it.     Then  the  Archbishop  took  him 
in  his  arms,  and  "  laid  his  hand  on  his  cheek, 
and  earnestly  besought  God  Almighty  to  bless 


140  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

him  and  increase  all  grace  in  him,  and  fit  him 
every  day  more  and  more  for  an  instrument  of 
His  glory  here  upon  earth  and  a  saint  in 
heaven,  'which,'  said  he,  'is  the  only  hap- 
piness that  can  be  desired  and  ought  to  be  our 
chief  end  in  all  our  actions.  God  bless  you  ! 
God  bless  you  !  .  .  .  God  will  provide  for 
you  better  than  your  father  can.  God  bless 
you  and  keep  you  ! '  So  he  parted  from  his 
Grace."  ^ 

This  took  place  on  Easter  Eve.  On  Easter 
Day  young  Nicholas  made  his  communion, 
took  ill  of  a  fever,  and  a  few  days  after 
Ascension  Day  he  passed  to  his  rest.  This 
simple  narrative  written  by  the  sorrowing 
father  of  a  youth  of  extraordinary  attainments 
and  piety,  strikingly  brings  out  the  spiritual 
side  of  Laud.  In  the  case  of  George  Herbert, 
it  was  Laud's  earnest  entreaties  that  finally 
influenced  him  to  become  a  priest,  and  to 
accept  tlie  cure  of  souls  of  Bcmcrton. 

Had  Archbisliop  I^aud's  lot  been  cast  in  the 
more  peaceful  paths  in  which  I^ancelot  An- 
drewes  walked,  his  piety  would  have  stood  out 
still  more  prominently.  But  the  best  proof  of 
the  reality  of  his  inner  religion  is  to  be  sought 
and  found  in  the  closing  years  of  his  long  life ; 

'  qu.  from  a  MS.  written  ])v  .Toliii  Ferrar,  liis  father.    Nicholas 
Form;  ed.  Carter^  Loud,  iyit.%  i-p.  2yO-:'<JO. 


LAUD   AND  FERRAR  THE   YOUNGER     141 

when,  tried  as  by  fire,  his  cliaracter  pre-emin- 
ently shone  forth— a  character  moulded  by 
constant  communion  with  God,  a  character 
purged  and  sanctified  by  sufferings,  patiently 
and  heroically  endured,  even  unto  death.  For 
it  was  this  that  enabled  him,  by  the  grace  of 
Him  Whose  he  was  and  Wliom  he  served,  to 
meet  his  end  with  a  fortitude  which  called 
forth  the  admiration  even  of  his  enemies. 


CHAPTER    VII 

LAUD  AND  CHRISTIAN   REUNION 

laud's      attitude       towards     reunion — THE 

cardinal's      hat MISSIONS      OF     LEANDER 

AND     PANZANI — NEGOTIATIONS    AVITH     WIN- 

DEBANK SANCTA  CLARA  ON  THE   ARTICLES 

— FAILURE  OF  THE  REUNION-PROJECT 

It  has  been  said  by  a  great  English  theologian 
that  "  the  Reformation  cost  much.  It  broke 
up,  at  least  in  the  AVestern  Church,  visible 
unity,  so  dear  to  all  Christians  who  believe 
that  our  Lord  uttered  the  intercessory  prayer 
in  St.  John,  and  that  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians  is  the  word  of  God."^  To  put  it 
shortly,  the  much  needed  reformation,  when 
it  did  take  place,  effected  a  break  in  the  unity 
of  Christendom— the  external  union  between 
tlie  Church  of  England  and  the  rest  of  the 
AVestern  Church  was  broken.  By  the  time 
of  Laud  this  rent  was  an  accomplished  fact : 

'  Liddon,  Univfrsih/  Sermons,  "  Gro\vtli  in  tlie  apprehension 
of  truth,"  Loud.  1880,  p.  116. 

142 


ATTITUDE   TOWARDS   REUNION        143 

and,  alas  I  to  this  day,  the  familiar  words  of  the 
psalmist,  "  Jerusalem  is  built  as  a  city  that  is 
at  unity  in  itself,"  have  ceased  to  express  the 
truth.  Yet  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  when  party-spirit  ran  high,  many 
a  devout  soul  on  both  sides  must  have 
yearned  for  a  restoration  of  unity  and  brotherly 
love. 

We  may  dismiss  from  our  consideration 
those  men  who  firmly  held  it  as  a  dogma  that 
the  great  Latin  Church  was  the  Babylon  of 
the  Apocalypse,  and  that  the  first  bishop  in 
Christendom  was  the  Man  of  Sin.  Such 
persons  regarded  the  broken  unity  as  a  clear 
gain ;  but  what  was  the  attitude  of  William 
Laud  in  regard  to  this  great  question  ?  Did 
he  take  any  practical  steps  to  bring  about 
reunion  ? 

In  the  opinion  of  the  present  WTiter,  some 
modern  biographers  of  Laud  have  minimized 
his  attitude  in  this  matter,  and  have  portrayed 
him  as  taking  but  little  interest  in  the  cause 
of  Reunion.  It  is  perfectly  true  that  at  the 
beginning  of  his  episcopate  there  is  not  much 
of  the  reunionist  to  be  seen.  Owing  to  the 
persistent  aggressions  of  Rome,  champions 
were  needed  in  those  days  to  defend  the 
Anglican  position,  and  to  confirm  waverers 
in   the    English    Church ;   and    one   of  such 


144  LIFE   OF  AVILLIAM   LAUD 

champions  was  Laud.  In  his  controA  ersy  with 
Fisher  the  Jesuit,  his  sohd  learning  and  his 
skill  in  maintaining  the  Catholic  character  of 
the  Church  of  England  are  remarkable.  This 
was  then  a  more  difficult  task  than  it  would 
have  been  at  the  present  time ;  for  the  un- 
Catholic  teaching  and  actions  of  many  in  the 
reigns  of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  had  compro- 
mised the  English  Church  as  to  her  Catholic 
claims,  to  an  extent  of  which  we  ha\'e  little 
conception.  The  cruelties  of  the  JNIarian 
persecutions  had  also  the  effisct  of  steadily 
drawing  her  towards  foreign  Protestantism. 
Even  in  Laud  himself  we  find  traces  of  this 
ultra-Protestant  influence,  and  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at.  All  this  helped  to  increase  the 
difficulties  of  his  defence  of  the  Catholic 
position  of  the  Anglican  Church.  But  a  few 
years  after  his  controversy  with  Fisher,  when 
the  English  Church  began  to  reap  the  fruits 
of  the  I^audian  Ileformation,  and  when, 
through  the  teaching  of  her  great  divines  and 
the  restored  dignity  of  her  worship,  a  closer 
resemblance  to  tlie  rest  of  Catholic  Christen- 
dom was  attained — then  on  both  sides  there 
arose  yearnings  for  lleunion,  or  at  least  for 
reconciliation  of  some  kind. 

.Tust  at  tliis  time,  however,  dark  and  threat- 
ening clouds  were  beginning   to   gather,  and 


ATTITUDE   TOWARDS   REUNION        145 

the  Archbisliop  had  his  hands  full  in  navigating 
the  ship  through  dangers  which  abounded  on  all 
sides,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fulfilment  of  his 
secular  and  political  duties,  which,  according 
to  the  evil  custom  of  those  days,  were  heaped 
upon  great  ecclesiastics.     Another  reason  that 
prevented  Laud  from  entering  into  the  work 
of  Reunion,    was    the    growing    anti-Roman 
feeling  of  the  nation.     No  man  cared  less  for 
mere   popular    sentiment    than    he    did ;    his 
courage    in    the     midst    of    difficulties     was 
remarkable ;   but   to    have    identified   himself 
with     those    who    were    actively    promoting 
Reunion   might   have   brought   disaster  upon 
his   immediate   plans.      Although   the   course 
of  events   conspired   to   prevent   Laud    from 
acting  in  favour  of  reconciliation,  yet  on  the 
other   hand  he   earnestly  deplored   a   divided 
Christendom    and    wished    for    a    restoration 
of    outward    union.      His    attitude     towards 
Roman  aggression  was  defensive  rather  than 
offensive.      He    could   protest    against    those 
doctrines  in  which   he  conceived  the  Roman 
Church     had    departed    from    primitive    and 
Catholic  teaching,  but  yet  he  heartily  desired 
and  prayed  for  the  reunion  of  Christians  in  one 
fold.     His  speech  at  his  trial  in  reference  to 
Panzani  has  been  quoted  to  show  his  indiffer- 
ence   to    Reunion ;    but    then,    it    must    be 

10 


146  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

remembered,  he  was  standing  as  a  prisoner 
at  the  bar,  with  the  prospect  of  death  before 
him.  The  movement  m  the  direction  of 
Reunion  to  all  intents  and  purposes  had 
failed  ;  and  the  English  Church  herself  was 
in  serious  danger.  It  is  therefore  not  sur- 
prismg  that  Laud  then  referred  to  the 
movement  with  some  coldness,  especially  in 
view  of  the  assiduous  attentions  of  the  Papal 
agents. 

The  episode  of  the  Cardinal's  hat,  in  Laud's 
history,  is  a  strange  one.  It  occurs  quite 
suddenly  in  his  Diary.  Under  Aug.  4,  1633, 
the  very  day  of  Abbot's  death,  we  read — 
"  That  very  morning  at  Greenwich  there  came 
one  to  me  seriously,  and  that  avowed  ability 
to  perform  it,  and  offered  me  to  be  a  Cardinal : 
I  went  presently  to  the  King,  and  acquainted 
him  botli  with  the  thing  and  the  person."^  A 
fortnight  later,  tlie  same  mysterious  personage 
appeared  upon  the  scene,  and  repeated  the 
offer.  Laud  again  informed  the  King,  and 
also  reported  in  his  Diary  the  answer  that  he 
made — "  Somewhat  dwelt  within  me  which 
would  not  suffer  that,  till  Rome  were  other 
than  it  is."^ 

Who  was  this  man  who  thus  approached  the 
archbishop  ?  was  his  offer  bojid  fide  ?  and  was 

'  Laud's  Works  (Diary),  iii.  210.  "  Ibid. 


THE   CARDINAL'S   HAT  147 

he  really  able  to  perform  his  promise  ?  A 
satisfactory  answer  has  never  been  given  to 
these  questions.  Was  it  a  genuine  move  on 
the  part  of  the  Court  of  Rome  to  approach 
the  leader  of  the  English  Church,  and  see 
whether  something  could  not  be  done  to  bring 
back  those  provinces  which  were  separated 
into  communion  with  the  rest  of  the  Western 
Church  ?  Or,  was  it  again  an  artifice  of  the 
Jesuits,  the  determined  foes  of  Reunion,  to 
discredit  the  Archbishop  in  the  eyes  of  the 
powerful  Puritan  party,  and  so  to  bring  disaster 
upon  the  reformation  and  consolidation  of  a 
schismatical  communion  ?  No  explanation  of 
the  affair  has  yet  been  given,  but  Laud's 
answer  in  a  few  words  sums  up  his  own  atti- 
tude. His  strong  and  honest  belief  in  the 
truth  of  the  Anglo-Catholic  position, — this  was 
the  "  somewhat "  that  dwelt  within  him,  which 
would  not  allow  him  to  unite  with  the  Latin 
Church  till  "  Rome  were  other  than  it  is," — in 
other  words,  till  it  ceased  to  impose  unlawful 
terms  upon  those  who  sought  reunion.  He 
was  against  unconditional  surrender  to  Rome  ; 
but  he  desired  reconciliation  on  Catholic  as 
opposed  to  Papal  terms.  His  speech  at  his 
trial  clearly  brings  this  out.  He  said — "  And 
surely  I  may  not  deny  it :  I  have  ever  wished 
and  heartily  prayed  for,  the  unity  of  the  whole 


148  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Church  of  Christ,  and  the  peace  and  reconciha- 
tion  of  torn  and  divided  Christendom.  But  I 
did  never  desire  a  reconcihation,  but  such  as 
might  stand  with  truth,  and  preserve  all  the 
foundations  of  religion  entire  .  .  .  and  there- 
fore I  did  never  desire  that  England  and  Rome 
should  meet  together,  but  with  forsaking  of 
error  and  superstition  ;  especially  such  as  grate 
upon  and  fret  the  foundations  of  religion.  But 
were  this  done,  God  forbid  but  that  I  should 
labour  for  a  reconciliation ;  if  some  tenets  of 
the  Roman  party  on  the  one  side,  and  some 
deep  and  embittered  disafFections  on  the  other 
had  not  made  it  impossible,  as  I  much  doubt 
they  have."^ 

We  may  now  turn  from  the  personal  actions 
and  sayings  of  the  leader  of  the  Caroline  re- 
formation as  to  Reunion,  and  briefly  consider 
what  really  did  take  place  in  the  direction  of  a 
reconciliation  between  the  Englisli  and  Latin 
Churclies. 

In  the  third  decade  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury tliere  were  several  things  that  appeared 
favourable  to  such  a  scheme.  It  is  not  too 
mucli  to  say,  that  the  face,  and  indeed  the 
lieart  of  tlie  Englisli  Church  was  greatly 
changed  by  the  cllbrts  of  T^aud  and  his 
followers.     As  we  have   pointed   out   in   the 

'  Ljiud's  Works,  iii.  412. 


ENGLAND   AND   ROME  149 

last  chapter,  a  return  was  being  made  to  the 
"  old  paths,"  whilst  the  doctrines  of  Calvin  and 
other  foreign  Protestants  were  steadily  losing 
ground.  The  description  of  a  Laudian  divine 
of  the  period,  with  the  exception  of  the  reflec- 
tion upon  his  intellect,  from  the  scurrilous  pen 
of  a  Puritan,  is  probably  not  far  from  the 
truth.  He  says — "An  Arminian,  or  ^lonta- 
guist  is  an  animal  scarce  rational,  whose  study 
is  to  read  (and  applaud)  Peter  Lombard  and 
John  Dun  before  Peter  INIartyr  and  John 
Calvin.  .  .  .  His  religion  is  like  a  confection 
compounded  of  many,  the  least  ingredient 
being  Protestantism."^  A  modern  writer  has 
not  exaggerated  the  attitude  of  the  English 
Church  at  that  time,  in  saying—"  Puritanism 
was  now  the  extreme  which  was  to  be  specially 
avoided :  and  union  with  Rome  was  not  only 
conceived  as  possible,  but  openly  talked  of. 
The  points  of  doctrine  in  which  we  differed 
from  Rome,  appeared  under  the  gentle  euphem- 
isms of  '  inferior  questions,'  '  secondary  points,' 
*  things  from  which  offence  was  taken,'  '  logo- 
machies,''scholastic  subtleties.'  .  .  .  Anglican 
divines  and  Roman  Catholic  dignitaries 
mingled  with  each  other  in  familiar  inter- 
course,  compared    notes,   and    devised    plans 

1  An  appeal  against  Richard  Montague,  late  Bishop  of  Chichester y 
and  now  Bishop  of  Norwich,  p.  36. 


150  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

for  reconciliiig  and  re-uniting  the  Churches."^ 
JNIoreover,  England  was  then  ruled  by  a  king 
who  at  heart  fa\'oured  Reunion,  whatever  his 
enforced  outward  attitude  may  have  been.  On 
the  other  side,  Pope  Urban  VIII.  was  well 
disposed  to  the  English  nation,  and  inclined 
towards  a  rapprochement.  Lastly,  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that,  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  influence  of  Ultramontanism  was  not  what 
it  is  at  the  present  day.  Gallicanism,  or  the 
religion  of  the  "moderate  Papists,"  as  they 
were  called,  was  far  more  widespread  than  it  is 
now.  Hindrances  to  Reunion,  such  as  the 
imposition  of  the  dogmas  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  and  the  Infallibility  of  the  Pope, 
did  not  exist  in  those  days. 

In  the  year  1632,  Father  I^eander,  an  Eng- 
lish Benedictine,  was  sent  by  Urban  VIII.  on 
a  mission  to  England,  to  report  upon  the  con- 
dition of  tiie  Roman  Catholics  in  the  country, 
and  to  investigate  the  general  state  of  affiiirs, 
ecclesiastical  and  civil.  Leander,  originally  by 
name  John  Jones,  was  a  "  chamber  fellow  "  of 
Laud  at  St.  .John's  College,  Oxford.  He 
seceded  to  the  Roman  Comnumion,  and 
eventually  took  the  Benedictine  habit  at  the 
abbey  of  S.    JMartino   Campostella,  and    was 

'  Maccoll,  Lawksi-ness,  Sacerdoialhm  and  Ritualism,  2u(l  edit., 
p.  2yy. 


LEANDER   AND   PANZANI  151 

afterwards  known  as  Dom  Leander  of  S. 
JNIartino.  Notwithstanding  his  secession,  he 
continued  on  friendly  terms  with  Laud.  Of 
him  Antony  a  Wood  says  that  he  was 
"  beloved  of  all  that  knew  him,  and  hated 
by  none  but  by  the  Puritans  and  Jesuits."  ^ 
On  the  matter  of  Reunion,  he  reported 
that — 

''It  seemeth  possible  enough  if  the  points  were  discussed 
in  an  assembly  of  moderate  men,  without  contention 
or  desire  of  victory,  but  out  of  a  sincere  desire 
of  Christian  union."  He  added  ''that  in  the  greater 
number  of  the  articles  of  faith  the  English  Protestants 
.  .  .  are  truly  orthodox.  .  .  .  They  admit  the  four 
first  General  Councils,  the  three  authentic  sjoiibols  of 
the  apostles,  Nicaea  or  Constantinople,  and  of  St. 
Athanasius,  as  they  are  received  in  the  Roman 
Church  ;  they  reverence  the  primitive  Church  and 
unanimous  consent  of  the  ancient  Fathers,  and  all 
traditions  and  ceremonies  which  can  be  sufficiently 
proved  by  testimony  of  antiquity  ;  they  admit  a 
settled  Liturgy  taken  out  of  tlie  Roman  Liturgy, 
distinction  of  orders,  bishops,  priests  and  deacons  in 
distinct  habits  from  the  Laity  and  divers  other  points 
in  which  no  Transmarine  Protestants  do  agree."  ^ 


*»' 


In  1634,  a  somewhat  similar  mission  was 
carried  out  by  Father  Gregorio  Panzani,  an 
Oratorian.      He  was  especially  commissioned 

^  Athena  Oxoniennis,  ed.  Bliss,  II.  604,  qu.  Diet.  Nat.  Biogr. 
XXX.  124. 

2  Clarendon,  State  Papers,  I.  207,  208,  qu.  Oxenham,  An 
Eirenicon  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  Loi\d.  1879,  Introd.  p.  10. 


152  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

by  the  Pope  and  Cardinal  Barberini  to  com- 
pose the  bitter  strife  that  had  long  been  going 
on  in  England,  between  the  regular  and 
secular  Roman  clergy,  and  their  lay  followers, 
as  to  the  necessity  of  having  a  bishop  and 
as  to  the  oath  of  allegiance ;  and  that  they 
(the  Pope  and  Barberini)  might  inform  them- 
selves "of  the  true  state  of  affairs  amongst 
the  Catholics  (Roman),  and  to  feel  the  pulse 
of  the  nation  with  regard  to  other  concerns."^ 
In  one  of  his  early  letters,  he  sets  forth  the 
change  that  of  late  years  had  come  over  the 
English  Church,  and  his  words  are  interesting 
as  showing  how  such  things  would  strike  a 
foreigner  at  the  time.     He  said — 

that  botla  the  Avritings  and  discourses  of  Protestants 
were  in  a  different  key  from  what  formerly  they 
had  been^  that  the  King's  preachers  often  took 
occasion  to  run  into  the  praises  of  the  moderate 
papists  ;  that  they  recommended  the  use  of  auricular 
confession,  extolled  the  beautifying  and  adorning  of 
churches,  and  paying  a  respect  to  tlie  name  of  Jesus 
by  bowing,  «S:c.,  tliat  they  disclaimed  many  popular 
calumnies  fixed  on  the  Church  of  Rome,  owning  her 
to  be  the  motlier  church,  and  author  of  haji))iness 
to  many  naWons.  Altiu-s,  images,  &c.,  were  mentioned 
with  respect ;  and  many,  in  common  conversation, 
wished   for  a  reunion. - 

The  l{cv.  J.   Berington,   adds  in    a   footnote, 

'   Horiiifrton,  Memoirs  of  Gregorio  Panxani,  IJirniiiinhani,  1793, 


WINDEBANK  153 

"  The  truth  of  these  observations  is  confirmed 
by  all  contemporary  writers." 

In  a  later  letter,  Panzani  refers  to  the  ani- 
mosity of  the  Jesuits  to  reunion.  Eventually  he 
had  an  interview  with  the  King,  who  received 
him  with  favour.  The  matter  of  Reunion 
seems  first  to  have  been  mentioned  to  Sir 
Francis  Windebank,  Secretary  of  State,  and 
a  friend  of  Laud,  who  was  eager  for  a  recon- 
ciliation between  the  two  communions.  On 
Windebank  declaring  that,  "  if  we  had  neither 
Jesuits  nor  Puritans  in  England,  I  am  con- 
fident an  union  might  easily  be  effected," 
Panzani  answered,  that  "though  the  Jesuits 
were  regarded  as  a  learned  body,  and  very 
serviceable  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  yet  it  is 
not  improbable  but  his  Holiness  would  sacrifice 
their  interest  on  the  prospect  of  so  fiiir  an 
acquisition."  1  That  the  two  extremes  did 
eventually  wreck  the  work  of  the  peacemakers 
is  confirmed  by  Heylin's  statement  —  "It 
was  the  Petulancy  of  the  Puritans  on  the 
one  side,  and  tlie  Pragmaticalness  of  the 
Jesuit es  on  the  other,  which  made  the  breach 
wider  than  it  was  at  first ;  and  had  those  hot 
spirits  on  both  sides  been  calmed  awhile, 
moderate  men  might  possibly  have  agreed 
upon  such  equal  terms,  as  would  have  laid  a 

1  Berington^  p.  1G3. 


154  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

sure  foundation  for  the  peace  of  Christendom."  ^ 
As  to  Reunion,  AVindebank  further  assured 
Panzani  that  "  all  moderate  men  in  Church 
and  State  thirsted  for  it."  On  Windebank 
mentioning  as  obstacles  to  union,  communion 
in  one  kind,  the  Latin  liturgy  and  the 
compulsory  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  "  Panzani 
judging  these  points  too  big  for  him,  only 
answered  that  he  hoped  such  obstacles  might 
be  removed."^ 

About  this  time  there  appeared  a  very 
remarkable  work,  Paraphrastica  Eojposltio 
Articulorum  Cojifessionis  AngUcanae.  It 
was  ^\Titten  by  a  devout  and  learned  -Roman 
Catholic,  Dr.  Christopher  Davenport,  a  Fran- 
ciscan, known  in  religion  as  Francis  a  Sancta 
Clara.  The  book  was  a  commentary  upon 
the  XXXIX.  Articles ;  and  its  author,  with 
considerable  success,  endeavoured  to  show  that 
the  Articles  were  not  contrary  to  the  autlio?^- 
ized  teaching  of  the  Latin  Church.  He  even 
supported  his  position  from  the  writings  of 
Andrewes,  Montague,  Bramhall,  and  other 
learned  Anglican  divines.  The  work  was 
formally  dedicated  to  King  Charles  I.,  wlio,  so 
far  as  he  was  able,  favoured  the  Reunion  move- 
ment. 'I'hc  book  created  a  great  sensation. 
The  Puritans  naturally  denounced  it  in  most 

'  Cyprianus  Aiujlkits,  p.  388.  ^  BeriugtoUj  p.  1(54. 


SANCTA   CLARA  155 

scathing  terms.    The  Archbishop,  as  we  gather 
from  his  speech  in  the  History  of  Ms  Troubles, 
was  hardly  prepared  to  go  the  length  of  all 
its   teachings ;    though,  as   a   whole,   he   pro- 
bably approved  of  it.     Some  of  his  followers 
took   the  same  line.      INIany  of  the  English 
Romans  did  not  like  the  book,  as  it  appeared 
in  their  opinion  to  concede  too  much  to  the 
Anglican  Church.     But  we  may  be  sure  that 
many  an  earnest-minded  Anglican  or  Roman, 
who   prayed   for  the   peace   of  Christendom, 
blessed   the   book    and    the    charitable    spirit 
which  it  breathed.    The  Jesuits  and  their  allies 
moved  heaven  and  earth  to  get  it  condemned 
at  Rome,  and  "  the  work  was  far  from  being 
liked  at  the  Roman  Court,  where  it  was  con- 
sidered a  very  dangerous  production,  far  too 
condescending  to  schismatics  and  heretics."  ^ 
These  efforts  were  successful,  and   the  book 
was  censured,  though  the  decree  was  not  made 
public.       It   is   interesting   to   note   that  the 
King  did  his  best,  through  his  agent  in  Rome, 
to  prevent  the  censure.     Sancta  Clara's  book 
is  said  to  have  been  the  basis  of  Dr.  Newman's 
celebrated  Tract  XC,   and  it  was  doubtless 
largely   made   use   of    by   Bishop   Forbes   of 
Brechin  in  his  famous  work  on  the  XXXIX. 
Articles.     On  the  Anglican  side,  it  must  not 

1  Berinjftou,  p.  1G5. 


156  LIFE   OF  WILIJAM  LAUD 

be  forgotten  that  such  works  as  those  of 
Bishop  INIontague  and  others  were  quietly- 
promoting  peace,  where  not  long  before  strife 
existed. 

On  Panzani  reporting  to  Barberini  the 
informal  conferences  with  Windebank,  the 
Cardinal  proceeded  to  bid  him  keep  to  the 
chief  objects  of  his  commission,  and  not  to 
busy  himself  so  much  with  Reunion  ;  showing 
plainly  that  while  Panzani  earnestly  yearned 
for  peace  and  reconciliation,  the  Court  of 
Rome  was  then  of  a  different  mind.  The 
censure  of  Sancta  Clara's  book  was  a  severe 
blow  to  Windebank  and  to  others  who 
thought  with  him.  Sancta  Clara  himself 
appears  to  have  been  much  esteemed,  not 
only  amongst  his  own  Communion  in  England, 
but  also  by  the  King  and  many  Anglicans. 
After  this,  we  read  of  an  interview  between 
Bishop  Montague  and  Panzani,  in  which  the 
bishop  assured  him  that  both  tlie  archbishop 
and  the  bishop  of  London  (Juxon),  several 
other  bisliops,  and  a  great  number  of  learned 
inferior  clergy  were  faAOurable  to  reunion. 
Montague  added  that  these  men  were  ready 
to  concede  to  Rome  "  a  supremacy,  j';//7'tV// 
sj)i?'ifu(il'\-  and  that  there  was  no  other 
nictliod  of  ending  controversies  than  by 
liaving  "recourse  to  some   centre   of  ecclesi- 


SANCTA  CLARA  157 

astical  unity,"  and  he  proposed  "  to  choose 
moderate  men  deputies  on  both  sides "  to 
confer  on  the  subject,  and  that  such  a  con- 
ference should  be  held  in  France,  since  the 
Churches  of  that  country  and  of  England 
"came  nearest  to  one  another,  both  in 
doctrine  and  discipline."'  On  reporting  this 
to  Cardinal  Barberini,  much  satisfaction  seems 
to  have  been  expressed  in  Rome,  and  a  far 
more  appreciative  spirit  as  regards  reconcili- 
ation was  manifested,  especially  by  Barberini 
himself,  who  bade  Panzani  assure  the  English 
bishops  that  the  Pope  "  would  make  no  un- 
reasonable demands,  but  content  himself 
with  the  essentials  of  his  Primacy,  and  such 
privileges  as  were  annexed  to  it  jure  divino.''"^ 
Panzani  then  had  another  interview  with 
JNlontague,  who  assured  him  that  at  heart 
the  Archbishop  was  with  him  in  his  desire 
for  union,  although  he  had  to  act  cautiously. 
On  this  occasion,  Montague,  while  declaring 
that  he  yearned  for  a  genuine  and  corporate 
union,  staunchly  maintained  the  validity  of 
Anglican  Orders,  and  so  the  conference  ended. 
At  the  third  conference,  INIontague  declared 
that  all  the  English  bishops  with  but  three 
exceptions  (Morton,  Davenant,  and  Hall), 
were  more  or  less  in  favour  of  union.     The 

1  Beriugton,  pp.  238,  239.  ^  Ibid.  p.  240. 


158  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

subject  of  Anglican  Orders,  Panzani  seems, 
naturally,  to  have  avoided.  INIr.  Berington 
adds  that,  the  Earl  of  Arundel,  a  Roman 
Catholic,  and  some  of  the  laity  of  that  Com- 
munion supported  the  project ;  but  he  adds 
that  "  several  thinking  persons  speculated,  not 
much  amiss,  that  it  would  be  retarded  by  the 
regulars  .  .  .  and  the  Jesuits  were  chiefly 
apprehended  in  this  respect."^  In  1636, 
Panzani  was  recalled  to  Rome,  and  in  one 
of  his  last  letters  he  makes  the  touching 
confession  to  the  Cardinal  that  "he  is  con- 
tent to  grow  grey  in  the  drudgery  towards 
accomplishing  it,"  i.  e.,  the  union. ^ 

One  cannot  help  thinking  that  all  along  the 
worthy  bishop  in  his  zeal  for  Reunion  painted 
the  feeling  in  England  on  the  subject  in 
brighter  colouring  than  it  really  possessed, 
and  also  that  Panzani  was  hkewise  carried 
away  by  zeal  for  peace.  Such  were  the 
efforts  that  were  made  in  the  days  of  Laud 
to  restore  visible  Reunion  between  England 
and  Rome,  and  repair  the  gaping  wound  in 
the  mystical  Body  of  Christ.  We  have 
already  explained  why  I^aud  was  not  more 
closely  connected  with  tliese  efforts  ;  but,  on 
the  other  liand,  in  the  opinion  of  the  present 
writer,  it  is  impossible  to  dissociate  them  from 

'  Berington,  p.  249.  »  Ibid.  p.  236. 


FAILURE   OF   REUNION   rRO.JECT       159 

his  name.  They  were  part  and  parcel  of  the 
movement  of  which  he  was  the  undoubted 
leader.  Some  writers  on  this  period  have 
rather  depreciated  these  efforts  in  behalf  of 
peace ;  but  when  the  matter  is  fairly  con- 
sidered, the  importance  of  the  negotiations 
and  friendly  intercourse  must  be  admitted, 
although  it  is  true  that  unfortunately  the 
object  in  view  was  not  obtained. 

Another  rappi'ochement,  followed  less  than 
a  hundred  years  after,  in  Anne's  reign  under 
Archbishop  A¥ake,  a  worthy  successor  of 
Laud.  Then  a  reunion  between  the  Anglican 
and  Galilean  Churches  seemed  possible,  thanks 
to  the  noble  efforts  of  Wake  on  the  one  side 
and  of  Du  Pin  on  the  other ;  but  here  again, 
the  fair  work  was  ruined  chiefly  through  the 
action  of  the  infamous  Cardinal  Dubois. 
Since  that  time  other,  though  minor  attempts, 
have  been  made,  all  alike  being,  alas !  doomed 
to  failure. 

Dr.  Gore,^  the  present  Bishop  of  Birming- 
ham, has  ably  and  impartially  drawn  out  the 
fact  that  at  the  separation  in  the  sixteenth 
century  there  were  faults  on  both  sides — the 
Roman  spirit  of  schism  with  its  unreasonable 
claims  on  the  one  side,  and  the  English  spirit 
of  schism  with  its  impatience  and  intolerance 

^  Roman  Catholic  Claims,  1889,  pp.  129,  130. 


160  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

on  the  other.  These  faults  have  more  or  less 
existed  ever  since,  and  have  hindered  that 
"godly  union  and  concord,"  for  which  all 
Christians  ought  to  pray. 

As  to  reunion  with  the  Eastern  Church, 
not  much  was  done  in  Laud's  time,  although 
chaplains,  stationed  in  English  factories  in 
the  Levant  and  elsewhere,  in  some  instances 
cultivated  friendly  relations  with  the  native 
bishops  and  priests,  mutually  enlightening 
one  another  as  to  the  doctrines  held,  with 
the  natural  result  that  they  were  drawn 
nearer  together.  Laud,  in  his  controversy 
with  Fisher,  and  other  writers  also,  refer 
with  approval  to  the  Greek  Churches ;  but, 
in  those  days  of  slow  and  painful  travel, 
Eastern  Christendom  was  situated  too  far 
off  for  projects  of  union  to  be  hiitiated. 
AVhat  is  nowadays  called  "•  Home  Reunion," 
or  reunion  with  Protestant  English  Christians, 
was  j^hardly  needed  in  the  first  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century ;  for  the  Puritans,  who 
afterwards  formed  themselves  into  Presby- 
terian and  Independent  bodies,  had  not  yet 
separated  from  the  English  Church.  JMr. 
Uutton,  in  his  History  of  the  Englislt  Church, 
lias  pointed  out  the  nearness  existing  between 
the  best  men  in  the  Church  and  amongst  the 
l*uritans,    and    liow   nuich    closer   they   were 


FAILURE   OF  RE-UNION   PROJECT      161 

than  the  noisy  and  blatant  partisans  would 
have  admitted.  Gentle  souls  like  George 
Herbert  and  the  Ferrars  on  the  one  side, 
and  JNIary  Rich  and  the  Hutchinsons  on  the 
other,  were  doubtless  much  nearer  to  each 
other  than  they  themselves  thought.  "It  is 
not  hard  for  us  now,"  says  Mr.  Hutton, 
"  when  the  stern  simplicity  of  the  Calvinist 
creed  has  lost  its  power,  to  discern  how  close, 
but  for  it,  the  pious  spirits  in  both  parties 
were  to  each  other  and  to  God.^ " 

^  Hutton,  History  of  the  English  Church  from  the  accession  of 
Charles  /.  to  the  death  of  Anne,  Lond.  1903^  p.  120. 


U 


CHAPTER  VIII 

LAUD  AND  LEARNING 

POPULAR  MISREPRESENTATIONS  OF  LAUD — HIS 
INTELLECT  AND  TOLERANCE MR.  GLAD- 
STONE'S VINDICATION  OF  LAUD — CHANCEL- 
LOR OF  OXFORD — INCIDENTS  IN  UNIVERSITY 

REFORM LAUD  ENTERTAINS  CHARLES  I.  AT 

OXFORD — laud's  MUNIFICENCE  TO  OXFORD 

It  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  hut  few  men 
prominent  in  English  History  to  be  more 
misrepresented  than  the  subject  of  this  bio- 
graphy. Although  much  has  been  done  in 
recent  years  to  correct  unfortunate  misrepre- 
sentations of  Laud's  character,  still  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  even  in  this  present  day  his  life  and 
his  work  are  but  imperfectly  estimated.  That 
the  prime  mover  in  a  great  cause  should  be  the 
object  of  dislike  and  the  subject  of  injustice  at 
the  hands  of  opponents,  is  quite  natural.  Ac- 
cordingly, AVilham  I^aud  has  suffered  from  the 
Puritan  trachtion  whicli  lias  attached  itself  to 
his  name,  and  whicli  owes  a  great  deal  of  its 


MISREPRESENTATIONS   OF  LAUD      163 

force  to  the  unscrupulous  enmity  of  the 
notorious  Prynne,  I^aud's  relentless  foe.  15ut 
probably  the  greatest  detractors  in  more  modern 
times  have  been  Hallam  and  Macaulay.  In 
the  graceful  style  and  fascinating  language  of 
JNIacaulay's  Critical  and  Historical  Essays,  the 
average  Briton  has  unconsciously  imbibed  as 
untrue,  and,  in  some  respects,  as  libellous  an 
account  of  Laud  as  that  furnished  by  Piynne 
himself  Nothing  but  the  strange  narrowness 
of  early  Victorian  Liberalism  can  account  for 
this.  Laud's  Diary,  which  certainly  was  not 
intended  for  the  public  eye,  with  its  quaint 
references  to  dreams  and  portents,  is  made  the 
basis  of  this  unfair  attack.  As  the  writer  in  the 
Church  Qiiarterh)  Revieiv  upon  Laud,  whom 
we  have  already  quoted,  justly  says,  "  It  is 
easy  enough  for  British  Philistinism,  of  which 
that  very  superior  person,  Lord  Macaulay  is 
the  incarnation,  to  make  merry  over  Laud's 
dreams  and  omens  and  conjunction  of  planets  ; 
but  the  proceeding  is  about  as  reasonable,  as  if 
one  who  had  been  accustomed  to  the  Maxim 
guns  were  to  make  merry  over  those  who  used 
the  bow  and  arrows  with  such  deadly  execution 
on  the  field  of  Senlac."  ^  The  most  charitable 
estimate  of  Macaulay 's  diatribes  upon  Laud  is 
that  they  are  somewhat  amusing ;  but  history 

1  Church  Quurter/y  Review,  1895^  No.  79,  p.  Go, 


164  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

they  are  certainly  not.  The  point  in  Laud's 
character  that  happens  to  be  chiefly  singled 
out  for  ridicule  is  the  supposed  weakness  of 
his  mind,  and  the  limitations  of  his  aims  and 
sympathies.  "  The  imbecility  of  his  intellect." 
"  His  mind  had  not  expansion  great  enough  to 
comprehend  a  great  scheme,  good  or  bad." 
"  A  superstitious  driveller."  "  A  ridiculous 
old  biffot " — such  are  some  of  the  choice  ex- 
pressions  bestowed  upon  Laud  by  INlacaulay.^ 
But  what  can  be  more  contrary  to  ftict  ? 
Certainly  Laud  had  his  imperfections,  but  his 
intellect  was  of  no  mean  order.  That  a  poor 
scholar  of  St.  John's  should  become  head  of 
that  society,  that  in  time  he  should  rise  to  be 
one  of  the  foremost  men  in  the  kingdom,  to 
say  nothing  of  his  being  the  leader  of  an 
ecclesiastical  school,  argues  considerable  in- 
tellectual power.  And,  moreover,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  Laud,  at  the  beginning  of 
his  career,  was  not  able  to  coimt  much  upon 
patronage,  and  all  through  life  he  was  no  self- 
seeker,  nor  was  he  in  any  way  a  coin-tier.  It 
is  therefore  absurd  to  disparage  liis  intellectual 
power.  An  a])le  and  careful  writer  like  JNIr. 
Hutton  is  loud  in  liis  praise  of  T^aud's  contro- 
versial work  with  Fisher  the  Jesuit.  He  speaks 
of  it  as  "  the   classic    presentation    I'rom   the 

'  trUirnl  <ui(l  Historical  Emiys,  Loud.  1877^  pp.  70,  77,  201. 


LAUD'S   INTELLECT   AND  TOLERANCE     165 

English  side  of  the  theological  differences 
between  England  and  Rome.  .  .  .  The  re- 
sult of  forty  years'  contention  was  to  leave  it 
the  strongest  expression  of  the  Anglican 
position."  He  justly  condemns  a  modern 
writer  for  calling  it  "a  nearly  unreadable 
folio."  ^  Perhaps  the  true  interpretation  of  this 
particular  expression  is,  that  tlie  solid  learning 
of  the  seventeenth  century  is  too  deep  for  a 
shallow  and  superficial  age  like  the  present. 
From  whatever  point  of  view  Laud's  Con- 
troversy wdth  Fisher  be  looked  at,  whether 
Roman,  Anglican,  or  Puritan,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  author  was  a  man  of  no  mean 
intellectual  calibre.  Again,  JNIacaulay's  de- 
scription of  Laud  as  bigoted  and  narrow,  is 
equally  absurd.  While  it  is  true  that  I^aud, 
in  the  spirit  of  his  times,  was  forced  to  take 
decided  steps  to  repress  Puritan  Noncon- 
formity— for  then  liberty  of  worship  was  un- 
known hi  all  countries — yet  withhi  the  English 
Church  he  exercised  a  wise  tolerance.  John 
Hales,  a  Latitudinarian,  and  AVilliam  Chilling- 
worth  who  certainly  was  not  of  the  Laudian 
school,  were  amongst  his  personal  friends. 
Laud's  "  wide  philosophic  mind  "  '^  could  throw 
itself  into  the  intellectual  difficulties  of  the 

1  Huttou,  William  Laud,  Loud.  1895,  pp.  145,  140. 

2  Wakeman,  The  Church  and  the  Furitans,  Loud.  1902^  p.  1G7. 


166  LIFE^OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

former;  and  we  learn  that,  on  one  occasion,  a 
whole  day  was  spent  by  the  busy  Archbishop 
patiently  discussing  matters,  and  finally  con- 
vincing him.^  Afterwards  he  promoted  both 
of  these  divines  to  posts  of  honour  in  the 
Church.  INIoreover,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
in  passing,  that  the  first  in  England  to  broach 
the  theory  of  complete  liberty  of  conscience 
was  Jeremy  Taylor  in  his  Liberty  of  Prophesy- 
ing ;  and  he  was  a  disciple  of  Laud,  and  his 
follower  in  theology.  That  seventeenth  century 
Puritanism  had  its  special  virtues,  no  one  will 
deny  ;  but  religious  toleration  was  certainly 
not  to  be  found  amongst  them. 

To  a  great  extent  it  was  left  for  the  great 
Liberal  statesman  and  devout  churchman,  INIr. 
Gladstone,  in  his  Romanes  Lecture  of  1892,  to 
point  out  and  emphasize  that  Wilham  Laud 
was  a  man  of  great  mental  power,  and  that 
"  he  was  the  first  Primate  of  all  England  for 
many  generations  who  proved  himself  by  his 
acts  to  be  a  tolerant  tlieologian.'""  Canon 
JNlaccoll  has  referred  to  this  in  the  following 
words — 

There  was  one  admirable  feature  in  Laud's  character 
which  lias  never  received  recognition,  and  to  which 
Mr.   (Gladstone   was    Ihc    first   to    call    my  attention. 

'   Ileyliii,  ('yprmnuK  Angliciis,  p.  340. 

■•2  Church  quarterly  Review,  181)3,  No.  70,  p.  r)2i). 


GLADSTONE'S  VINDICATIOxN  OF  LAUD     167 

Laud  was  the  first  Bishop  since  the  Reformation 
who  exercised  liberality  and  toleration  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  patronage.  He  promoted,  or  obbiined 
promotion  for,  good  men  who  differed  from  himself  on 
important  theological  questions — men  who  would  now 
be  called  good  Evangelicals.  So  long  as  they  rendered 
a  decent  obedience  to  the  Prayer  Book,  and  abstained 
from  railing,  and  showed  themselves  diligent  and 
devout  pastors,  he  promoted  them  as  readily  as  those 
who  were  docti'inally  in  closer  agreement  with  himself. 
Bishop  Hall  is  one  out  of  many  examples.^ 

Mr.  Hiitton  in  the  same  way  speaks  ot 
Laud's  intellect,  his  tolerance,  and  his  love  ot 
learning.     He  says — 

He  had  indeed  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
great  prelates  of  the  Renaissance  with  just  that 
change  which  its  ideas  underwent  on  English  soil. 
He  was  a  great  builder  and  a  patron  of  art,  a  scholar 
and  a  politician,  a  priest  with  a  love  of  comely  order 
and  the  seemly  dignities  of  public  worship.  He 
delighted  to  read  and  to  control  the  literature  of  the 
day ;  he  would  accept  dedications  and  encourage 
struggling  writers.^ 

Laud  seems  to  have  been  a  great  lover  and 
collector  of  books.  He  was  what  especially  in 
those  days  was  called  a  virtuoso,  being  inter- 
ested in  pictures,  sculpture  and  music.  But 
with  that  unselfishness  which  ever  characterized 
him,  he  bestowed  the  treasures  he   collected 

1  The  Reformation  Settlement,  Loud.  1899,  p.  118. 

2  Huttou,  p.  47. 


168  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

upon  societies  and  personal  friends  before  his 
death. 

In  the  year  1630,  on  the  death  of  the 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  Laud  was  elected  Chan- 
cellor of  the  University  of  Oxford.  Whilst 
naturally  gratified  by  such  a  mark  of  con- 
fidence on  the  part  of  his  beloved  Uni- 
versity, he  seems  to  have  shrunk  from  accept- 
ing the  post.  His  devotion  to  his  work  as 
bishop,  and  his  conscientious  misgivings  as  to 
whether  he  could  faithfully  carry  out  the 
duties  of  the  office,  made  him  hesitate  :  event- 
ually, at  the  urgent  desire  of  the  King,  he 
accepted  the  post. 

And  here  it  may  be  mentioned  that  even 
before  his  admission  to  the  office  of  Chan- 
cellor, it  was  through  his  influence  that  an 
important  reform  was  carried  out,  whereby  the 
turbulence  and  disorder  at  the  annual  election 
of  Proctors  was  suppressed.  In  future  they 
were  chosen  by  their  own  colleges,  each  college 
havmg  so  many  turns,  in  proportion  to  its  size 
and  importance.  In  his  History  of  the  Chan- 
cellorship, Laud  describes  how  he  entered  upon 
a  reformation  of  the  University.  To  quote  his 
own  words — 

The  first  tiling  I  tliouglit  fit  to  do  was  to  lay  a 
command  upon  tlu-  Vice-Chanccllor  for  the  time 
being  that  he  sliould  give  me  an  account  by  letters 


CHANCELLORSHIP  OF  OXFORD        169 

every  week  of  all  necessary  occurrences  which  hap- 
pened in  the  University  pertaining  to  exercise  or 
manners ;  with  a  promise  that  he  should  weekly, 
without  failj  receive  a  letter  from  me  expressing  what  I 
disliked  or  approved,  and  with  directions  what  should 
further  be  done  for  the  good  of  that  place. ^ 

The  next  matter  connected  with  this  reform- 
ation of  the  University  was  the  codification 
of  the  old  statutes,  and  the  addition  of  new 
ones.  This  work  had  previously  been  taken  in 
hand  by  Cardinal  Wolsey  and  others,  but  it 
had  not  been  completed.  Laud,  in  a  shrewd 
and  statesmanlike  way  observes,  "  I  did  ever 
foresee  that  it  was  not  possible  to  make  a 
reformation,  or  settle  that  body,  unless  the 
statutes  were  first  perfected."'-^  Here  the 
difficulties  and  obstacles  incident  to  reforma- 
tion beset  him,  but  with  his  usual  perseverance 
and  determination  they  were  overcome,  and 
the  University  of  Oxford  flourished  under  his 
rule.  The  letters  he  received  from  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  and  other  officials,  as  well  as  his 
letters  to  them,  have  been  preserved,  and  they 
throw  important  light  upon  his  work  of  Uni- 
versity reform.  Much  of  the  spirit  of  Oxford 
was  the  same  in  the  seventeenth  century  as  it 
is  to-day.  The  undergraduates  were,  it  is  true, 
younger  than  they  are   now-a-days,  and   the 

1  Laud's  Work^  (History  of  his  Chancellorship),  V.  13. 

2  Ibid.  14. 


170  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

discipline  exerted  over  them  was  consequently 
stricter ;  but  still  the  same  boyish  nature 
existed,  and  this  had  to  be  duly  kept  within 
bounds.  Thus  we  find  the  new  Chancellor 
writing,  "And  particularly  I  pray,  see,  that 
none,  youth  or  other  be  suffered  to  go  in  boots 
and  spurs  or  to  wear  their  hair  indecently  long, 
or  with  a  lock  in  the  present  fashion,  or  with 
slashed  doublets  or  in  any  light  or  garish 
colours."  ^  Laud's  sturdy  independence  and 
disregard  of  high  social  position  is  brought  out 
when  he  adverts  to  the  "  extreme  liberty  given 
and  taken  by  young  noblemen  and  gentlemen 
of  the  better  sort  in  the  University."  Sub- 
servient tutors  are  reported  to  make  things 
easy  for  them.  They  are  allowed  to  keep 
horses,  and  so,  when  restrained  from  frequent- 
ing taverns  in  the  city,  "  they  ride  forth  to  the 
neighbouring  places  both  to  drink  and  perhaps 
to  do  worse."  All  this  is  to  be  firmly  repressed. ^ 
We  also  hear  how  a  certain  professor  of  horse- 
manship, Mr.  Crofls  with  his  "  gi'eat  horses " 
appears  on  the  scene,  to  teach  all  the  mysteries 
of  "  school  "  riding.  Laud  admits  that  "  the 
exercise  in  itself  be  exceeding  commendable," 
but  that  the  undergraduates  "are  most  part 
too  young,  and  not  strong  enough  "  for  such 

'  Atttohiogmphij  of  Lmid,  Oxford,  1839,  p.  101. 
2  Lau(l'H'iror/f'*/V.  269,  260. 


CHANCELLORSHIP   OF   OXFORD         171 

severe  exercise,  and  he  adds  "where  one 
scholar  learns,  you  shall  have  twenty  or  forty 
to  look  on,  and  there  lose  their  time  so  that 
.  .  .  that  place  shall  be  fuller  of  scholars  than 
either  schools  or  library.  Therefore  I  pray  give 
Mr.  Crofts  thanks  fairly  for  his  good  inten- 
tions, but  as  thus  advised  I  cannot  give  way  to 
his  staying  there  for  the  purpose  he  intends."^ 
More  than  one  reference  is  made  to  the  pre- 
sence of  mysterious  strangers,  who  are  deemed 
to  be  Jesuits.  They  are  to  be  seen  to,  and 
questioned  as  to  their  intentions.^  In  a  letter 
to  the  Vice- Chancellor  there  are  interesting 
injunctions  about  the  Latin  prayers  and  cele- 
bration of  the  Eucharist  at  St.  Mary's  Church, 
with  directions  as  to  the  singing-men  practising 
their  parts.  ^  Laud  emphasizes  the  fitness  of 
the  Latin  tongue  for  the  worship  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  points  out  how  this  was  provided 
for  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign  by  a  Latin 
Prayer  Book. 

No  detail  of  University  life  seems  to  have 
been  too  trifling  for  his  attention.  He  laboured 
unreservedly  to  make  his  alma  mater  worthy  of 
her  best  traditions  by  reforming  what  was 
amiss,  and  by  confirming  what  was  good. 
And  all  this  was  the  work  of  a  man  already 

1  Laud's  Works,  V.  173,  2  n^i^^  242. 

»  Ibid.  156-158. 


172  LIFE   OF   WILLIAIVI   LAUD 

over-burdened  with  work  ecclesiastical  and 
secular.  And  if  the  welfare  of  his  University 
in  general  was  prominent  in  Laud's  mind,  the 
welfare  of  his  college  in  particular  was,  if  any- 
thing, more  prominent.  He  never  forgot  his 
beloved  college  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  taking 
a  deep  interest  in  it  to  the  day  of  his  death. 
Soon  after  he  was  elected  Chancellor,  he  set 
about  building  the  inner  quadrangle.  This  he 
did — with  the  exception  of  a  royal  gift  of 
timber — entirely  at  his  own  expense.  Canter- 
bury Quadrangle  and  the  "garden  front,"  as 
the  new  buildings  are  called,  are  an  exquisite 
blend  of  the  Pointed  and  Renaissance  style  of 
architecture,  and  have  long  been  considered 
amongst  the  architectural  gems  of  Oxford.  In 
the  year  1G36,  the  glory  of  Laudian  Oxford 
may  be  almost  said  to  have  reached  its  zenith, 
when  the  formal  visit  of  the  King  and  Queen 
to  the  University  took  place.  Dr.  Baylie  the 
President  of  St.  John's,  had  been  appointed 
Vicc-Chancellor,  so  that  St.  John's  occupied  a 
higher  position  than  ever. 

In  his  history  of  the  chancellorship,  Laud 
has  noted  a  detailed  account  of  the  speeches 
and  festi\'itics  that  took  place.  On  the  day 
after  Charles  and  his  Queen  arrive  at  Oxford, 
they  drive  in  their  coacii  to  St.  John's,  and 
view  the  new  buildings  and  other  beauties  of 


LAUD  ENTERTAINS   CHARLES   I.       173 

the  college.  On  entering  the  lihrary  they  are 
greeted  with  a  speech  in  verse  by  one  of  the 
fellows,  written  in  the  quaint  and  humorous 
style  of  the  day.  After  this  follows  a  sumptu- 
ous banquet,  at  which  the  baked  meats  appear 
fashioned  as  bishops  and  other  dignitaries, 
according  to  the  curious  custom  of  the  time 
on  such  great  occasions.  Later,  a  play  is  acted 
in  the  Hall,  and  then  they  repair  to  Christ 
Church,  where  they  sup  and  witness  another 
play,  "  Upon  a  piece  of  a  Persian  story,"  in 
which  the  players  wear  Persian  habits,  "  which 
gave  great  content."  The  following  day  their 
majesties  return  thanks  to  the  University  for 
the  loyal  welcome  which  they  have  received, 
and  so  they  depart.^  It  is  interesting  to  notice 
the  great  prelate  on  this  occasion,  acting  en 
grand  seigneur  as  he  welcomes  his  beloved 
Sovereign  to  the  University  and  to  his  own 
college  ;  and  it  is  almost  strange  to  behold  the 
grave  ecclesiastic  unbending  as  he  takes  part 
in  the  mirthful  college  festivities,  and  patronizes 
a  pure  and  refined  drama.  No  narrow-minded 
bigot  could  have  acted  thus.  With  his  usual 
generosity  towards  his  college,  he  insists  on 
defraying  the  entire  cost  of  its  entertainment 
of  the  King,  which  came  to  the  sum  of  £2,606 
— a  large  amount  in  those  days. 

1  Laud's  Works,  V.  148-155. 


174  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

One  would  fain  linger  over  Laudian  Oxford 
during  that  quarter  of  a  century  when  the 
University  rose  to  such  eminence,  the  days 
when  she  was  graced  by  many  great  names, 
when  her  fair  outward  appearance  was  em- 
bellished by  new  buildings  in  all  directions — 
the  Oxford  whose  memories  have  been  espe- 
cially chronicled  by  Anthony  A.  AVood, — let  it 
suffice  to  quote  from  that  writer.  He  says — 
"  Certain  it  is,  it  fell  out  very  happy  (Laud's 
election  to  be  Chancellor)  not  only  for  the 
encouragement  of  learning,  but  the  great  good 
of  the  University,  as  the  following  times  made 
it  manifest.  Had  he  continued  in  his  prosperity 
seven  years  longer,  and  not  been  molested  by 
the  restless  faction  of  the  Presbyterians,  he 
would  witliout  doubt  have  made  this  University 
more  famous  for  buildings,  books,  rarities,  dis- 
cipline, privileges,  kc,  than  many,  put  together 
in  the  learned  world."  ^  But  Laud's  efforts 
were  not  confined  to  his  own  University.  As 
Primate  of  all  England,  he  determined  to 
exercise  his  Metropolitan  rig]  its  in  carrying 
out  a  visitation  of  the  University  of  Cambridge, 
notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the  Earl  of 
Holland,  the  Chancellor.  Tn  June  1()3G,  an 
appeal  was  made  to  the  King,  who  decided  the 
case  in  favour  of  the  Primate ;  but,  owing  to 

'  t|U.  Autubhxjruphy  of  Laud,  Oxford,  1U39,  p.  IIC. 


LAUD'S   MUNIFICENCE   TO   OXFORD     175 

the  Scottish  troubles,  the  Visitation  of  Cam- 
bridge University  never  took  place.  However, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Cambridge  was  influ- 
enced by  the  Laudian  Movement  in  regard  to 
learning  as  well  as  religion.  On  the  day  after 
the  royal  decision  had  established  the  metro- 
political  right  of  visiting  the  Universities,  Laud 
promulgated  the  new  code  of  statutes  for  the 
University  of  Oxford.  Afterwards  he  procured 
for  Oxford  a  new  charter,  which  confirmed  the 
ancient  privileges  of  the  University. 

In  the  year  1G33,  Laud  was  elected  Chan- 
cellor of  the  University  of  Dublin  ;  and  here 
again  we  notice  his  reluctance  to  undertake  so 
weighty  an  office,  and  also  his  reforming  zeal 
and  energy.  He  was  instrumental  in  obtaining 
a  charter  for  Trinity  College,  and  later  he  drew 
up  statutes  for  its  good  government. 

INIention  must  also  be  made  of  Laud's 
munificent  patronage  of  Oriental  learning, 
particularly  in  the  University  of  Oxford.  To 
him  the  University  is  indebted  for  the  encour- 
agement of  the  study  of  Hebrew  and  Arabic. 
For  the  chair  of  Hebrew,  he  caused  the 
perpetual  annexation  of  a  Canonry  at  Christ 
Church  ;  the  professorship  of  Arabic  he  him- 
self founded,  and  also  endowed  it  in  perpetuity. 
Year  by  year  he  presented  valuable  MSS.  to 
his  own  college  and  also  to  the  University.    In 


176  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

the  year  1634,  the  King  had  issued  an  order 
that  every  ship  from  the  Levant  was  to  bring 
home  an  Oriental  ]MS.,  and  that  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  was  to  have  the  disposing  of  it. 
In  later  years  Laud's  gifts  consisted  partly  of 
these  JNISS.  In  the  year  1634,  Laud  presented 
to  the  University  fourteen  Hebrew,  fifty-five 
Arabic,  seventeen  Persian,  four  Turkish,  six 
Russian,  two  Armenian,  twelve  Chinese  MSS., 
besides  forty-four  Greek,  three  Italian,  three 
French,  forty-six  English,  and  more  than  two 
hundred  Latin  JNISS.  In  1635,  he  gave  four 
hundred  and  sixty -two  INISS.  In  1636,  he  gave 
one  hundred  and  eighty-one  JMSS.  and  five 
cabinets  of  coins.  In  1639,  he  gave  nearly  six 
hundred  JMSS.  and  many  books,  amongst  which 
was  one  on  the  hberties  of  the  GaUican  Chiu'ch 
which  had  been  suppressed  in  France.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  Laud's  comment,  that  the 
opinion  the  French  Church  entertained  of  the 
Papal  claim  to  supremacy  ought  to  be  put 
on  record.  He  also  mentions  that  Cardinal 
Richeheu  had  connived  at  its  publication.^ 
I^aud's  first  gift  of  books  and  JMSS.  took  place 
in  1610,  when  he  was  fellow  of  St.  John's,  and 
this  generosity  continued  to  the  end  of  his  life. 
Altogether  it  is  estimated  that  he  ciu-iched 
the   University  of  Oxford  with  over  thirteen 

'  Laud's  iVorlcn,  V.  22G. 


LAUD'S   MUNIFICENCE  TO   OXFORD      177 

hundred  JNISS.  in  twelve  languages — a  truly 
munificent  gift.  William  Laud,  patron  of 
literature,  of  science  as  it  was  then  under- 
stood, and  of  art,  with  his  open-handed 
generosity  in  the  cause  of  learning,  secular 
as  well  as  religious,  with  his  broad-minded 
sympathy  with  men  who  differed  from  him, 
is  a  very  different  person  from  the  distorted 
personality  described  by  JNIacaulay  and  other 
writers  who  have  followed  in  his  train. 


12 


CHAPTER   IX 

LAUD  AND  THE  SCOTTISH  CHURCH 

FALL     OF     THE    ANCIENT     SCOTTISH     CHURCH 

LAUD    ACCOMPANIES     KING   JAMES    TO    SCOT- 
LAND— KING     CHARLES    VISITS    SCOTLAND 

THE    SCOTTISH    PRAYER   BOOK 

In  considering  I^aud's  connection  with  the 
Scottish  Church,  it  is  necessary  to  refer  to 
the  events  in  that  country  which  immediately 
preceded  his  day.  In  Scotland  the  great  up- 
heaval of  the  sixteenth  century  differed  from 
that  in  England  in  several  respects.  In  the 
first  place,  the  racial  enmity  which  existed 
between  the  two  nations,  which  dates  from 
the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  resulted  in  drawing  the 
Scottish  Church  into  a  closer  union  with  the 
Court  of  Rome,  than  was  the  case  south  of  the 
Tweed ;  and  during  the  later  middle  ages  the 
Papacy  was  in  every  respect  at  its  lowest  ebb. 
The  wealth  of  the  Scottish  Church  was  great, 
and  this  fact  attracted  the  covetousness  of 
kings  and  nobles.     Had  they  laid  sacrilegious 

178 


THE   ANCIENT  SCOTTISH   CHURCH     179 

hands  upon  her  riches  and  phmdered  her,  tliey 
would  have  crippled  her  energies,  while  possibly 
purifying  her  ;  but  they  did  her  infinitely  more 
harm  in  thrusting  their  sons,  often  bastards, 
into  important  and  lucrative  ecclesiastical  posts. 
In  this  way   the   rulers   of  the  Church  were 
often  mere  hireling-shepherds  ;  who,  instead  of 
feeding  the  flock,  lived   upon   it.     JNIoreover, 
the  Scottish  kings  at  times  seem  to  have  been 
in  league  with  popes  like  Alexander  VI.,  and 
thus  to  their  mutual  profit  such  abuses  con- 
tinued to  flourish.     Again,  whilst  in  England 
the  monasteries  to  a  great  extent  were  libelled 
in  order  that  Henry  VIII.   might  confiscate 
their  wealth,  in  Scotland  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  they  were  in  a  corrupt  condition.     If  a 
reformation  was  called  for  in  England,  it  was 
far  more  needed  in  Scotland.     So  bad  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  in  the  old  Scottish  Church, 
that   when  the  storm  came,  it  carried  away 
everything  with  it.     Its  vehemence  was  greater 
even  than  that  with  which  it  raged  in  England 
hi  the  reigns  of  Henry  VIII.  and  Edward  VI. 
In    the    year    1560,    the    ancient    Church 
of  Scotland   was    proscribed   by   Parliament, 
and    its    endowments   were  seized.      As    has 
been      described :      "  On     the     morning    of 
August  25,  1560,  the  hierarchy  was  supreme; 
in  the  evening  of  the   same  day,  Calvinistic 


180  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

Protestantism  was  established  in  its  stead."  ^ 
The  leader  and  prime  mover  in  this  revolu- 
tion was  John  Knox,  a  brave  but  unscrupu- 
lous fanatic,  whose  manly  independence  and 
unselfishness  are  indeed  refreshing,  when  com- 
pared with  the  cringing  and  self-seeking  of 
many  of  the  reformers  in  England.  In  the 
turmoil  of  this  coup  d'etat,  much  of  the  wealth 
of  the  ancient  Church  was  "  grabbed  "  by  the 
nobles,  and  thus  lost  to  religious  uses. 

In  1572,  the  superintendents,  who  took  the 
place  of  the  old  line  of  bishops,  were  abolished, 
and  titular  "  bishops  "  and  "  tulchan  bishops  "  ^ 
took  their  place.  These  "tulchan  bishops" 
consisted  of  priests  who  had  renounced  the 
old  Church,  and  of  laymen  who  had  received 
some  kind  of  Calvinistic  ordmation.  The 
"  tulchan  bishops "  were  mere  nominees  of 
noblemen,  who  secured  for  their  own  use  the 
revenues  of  the  Church,  and  paid  the  so-called 
*'  bishop  "  a  stipend.  This  system  came  to  an 
end  in  1592,  when,  through  the  influence  of 
Andrew  Melville,  the  complete  Presbyterian 
system  was  set  up.  The  animosity  of  James 
I.  (of  England)  towards  Presbyterianism  has 
already  been  noticed.     It  began  to  show  itself 

'  Iluttoii,  The.  Church  in  dreat  Britain,  Loud.  1809,  p.  40. 
So    called   from  a    ''tulchan,"  or    calf's  skin  .stuffed  with 
straw,  which  was  .sometimes  placed  before  a  cow,  in  order  that 
she  might  give  her  milk. 


THE   ANCIENT   SCOTTISH   CHURCH     181 

while  he  was  still  in  Scotland.  The  frank  and 
honest  boldness  of  some  of  the  Presbyterian 
divines — for  they  were  no  respecters  of  persons 
— aroused  his  royal  displeasure,  as  did  also  their 
anti-monarchical  tendencies.  This,  and  his 
desire  to  bring  Scotland  into  unity  with  Eng- 
land in  matters  of  religion,  caused  him  to  take 
steps  to  this  intent.  In  1610,  seven  years 
after  the  death  of  Beaton,  archbishop  of 
Glasgow,  the  last  of  the  old  pre-reformation 
bishops,  Spottiswoode,  Lamb,  and  Hamilton, 
who  were  mere  "  titular  bishops  "  came  to 
England,  and  received  valid  episcopal  con- 
secration. On  their  return,  they  consecrated 
ten  more  bishops  ;  and  thus  the  episcopate  was 
re-introduced  into  Scotland.  In  the  year 
1G17,  James  paid  his  first  visit  to  Scotland  ; 
one  of  the  chief  objects  of  the  journey  being 
the  furtherance  of  a  scheme  for  conforming 
Scotland  to  England  in  religious  matters.  On 
this  occasion  he  brought  with  him  several 
divines  of  learning  and  ability.  Laud  being 
among  the  number.  The  chief  result  of  this 
visit  seems  to  have  been  that,  in  the  following 
year,  the  celebrated  Articles  of  Perth  were 
issued.  They  consisted  of  the  following :  1, 
The  Holy  Communion  to  be  received  kneel- 
ing :  2,  Private  Communion  to  be  allowed 
in    cases    of    sickness :    3,    Private    Baptism 


182  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

to  be  permitted  in  cases  of  necessity : 
4,  Certain  Holy  Days — Christmas,  Good 
Friday,  Easter,  Ascension  Day,  and  Whit- 
sunday— to  be  observed :  5,  Children  over 
eight  years  of  age  to  receive  Confirmation. 
Considerable  opposition  was  at  first  aroused 
by  the  King's  desire  that  these  Articles  should 
be  accepted.  Having  tried  persuasion  and 
argument  to  no  purpose,  he  at  length  gained 
his  point  by  the  simple  expedient  of  suspend- 
ing the  allowance  that  he  made  to  the  clergy. 
Heylin,  with  all  the  southerner's  dislike  of  the 
Scotch, — a  dislike  Avhich  lasted  for  more  than 
a  century  after  his  day, — humorously  de- 
scribes the  result  thus — "  Which  Pill  so 
wrought  upon  this  indigent  and  obstinate 
People,  that  the  next  year,  in  an  Assembly 
held  at  PaiJi,  they  passed  an  act  for  ad- 
mitting of  the  five  Ai'ticles,  for  which  his 
JNIajesty  has  been  courting  them  for  two 
years  together."  ^ 

The  same  ecclesiastical  policy  was  carried 
on  by  Charles,  but  without  his  father's 
caution  and  timidity,  and  also  without  his 
shrewdness.  In  the  case  of  Charles,  it  may 
be  said  there  was  less  "kingcraft,"  but  more 
religious  conviction.  His  first  action  was  a 
courageous  one :    he  attempted  to   make   the 

1  Heylin,  Cyprianus  Any/icus,  p.  00. 


LAUD   IN   SCOTLAND  183 

nobles  disgorge  the  Church  lands  and  the  tithes 
which  they  had  seized.  This  action  at  once 
raised  such  a  storm,  that  he  was  obliged  to 
resort  to  a  legal  process.  The  result  was  that 
eventually  a  considerable  amount  of  Church 
property  was  restored  to  the  Church.  The 
Scottish  nobility  never  forgave  the  King, 
and  afterwards  they  joined  with  the  Presby- 
terian party  in  opposing  him.  In  1033, 
Charles'  memorable  visit  to  Edinburgh  took 
place.  He  was  attended  by  Laud,  then  bishop 
of  London.  On  Sunday,  June  IG,  the  King 
attended  service  in  state  in  the  chapel  royal  at 
Holyrood ;  and  on  the  following  Tuesday,  the 
solemn  Coronation  took  place  in  the  same 
building.  The  outward  demonstrations  of 
popular  loyalty  were  great.  Laud  remarks 
"  1  never  saw  more  expressions  of  joy  than 
were  after  it.^  Heylin,  looking  back  upon 
the  event  many  years  later,  says — "the 
concourse  of  people  beyond  expression,  and 
the  expressions  of  their  joy  in  gallantry  of 
Apparel,  Sumptuous  Feastings  and  Acclam- 
ations of  all  sorts  nothing  inferiour  to  that 
concourse."  Then  he  pathetically  adds — 
"  But  this  was  only  the  Hosanna  of  his  first 
Reception ;  they  had  a  Crucifie  for  him  when 
he  came  to  his  Parliament."  ^     Laud  stayed 

1  Laud's  Works  (Diary),  iii.  217.  ^  Heylin,  p.  22G. 


184  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

barely  a  month  in  Scotland  ;  during  which 
time  he  appears  to  have  gone  as  far  as 
to  Stirling  and  Dundee.  His  Diary  sheds 
little  light  upon  his  doings  during  his  sojourn. 
The  following  brief,  but  graphic  touch,  shows 
the  difficulties  with  which  travellers  in  Scot- 
land in  those  days  were  beset.  "  July  8, 
JNIonday — To  Dunblain  and  Sterling.  My 
dangerous  and  cruel  journey,  crossing  part 
of  the  Highlands  by  coach,  which  was  a 
wonder  there.  July  9,  Tuesday — To  Lithcoe, 
and  so  to  Edinburgh."^  On  this  journey  it 
is  related  that  Laud,  on  visiting  the  ruined 
Cathedral  of  Dunblane,  remarked  that  it  was 
a  goodly  church,  but  when  a  bystander  added, 
"  Yes,  my  Lord,  this  was  a  brave  kirk 
before  the  Reformation,"  the  bishop  corrected 
him  by  saying,  "  What,  fellow,  Deformation 
not  Reformation  "  ^ — an  episode  very  similar 
to  that  related  by  Dr.  Johnson  one  hundred 
and  forty  years  later.  In  July,  Laud  left 
Edinburgh  for  England,  reaching  Fulham  on 
the  2Gth  of  the  month.  The  King  returned 
to  England  about  the  same  time. 

During  the  King's  stay  in  Scotland,  several 
important  events  took  place.     Edinburgh  was 

>  Laud's  Works,  iii.  218. 

2  Row's  Jlhsloni,  (ju.  SU'itlicn's  Ilhtory  of  the  Scottish  Church, 
Ediii.  1«!)4,  ii.  2;jy. 


KING   CHARLES   VISITS   SCOTLAND     185 

raised  to  an  episcopal  see,  the  first  bishop 
being  Wilham  Forbes  of  ^Vberdeen,  a  scholar, 
a  theologian,  and  a  saint ;  and  the  author  of 
Consider ationes  Modestiv,  to  which  we  have 
already  referred.  Bishop  Forbes  only  lived 
three  months  after  his  consecration,  dying  in 
1634,  an  inestimable  loss  to  the  Scottish 
Church.  Bishop  Burnet,  the  antithesis  of 
Forbes  in  his  religious  opinions,  speaks  in  the 
highest  terms  of  him.^  Another  event  was 
St.  Giles'  being  constituted  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  the  new  diocese.  Archbishop 
Spottiswoode  was  appointed  Chancellor  of 
Scotland,  and  nine  bishops  were  placed  on 
the  roll  of  the  Privy  Council.^  As  has 
been  already  shown  in  these  pages,  the  ap- 
pointment in  England  of  ecclesiastics  to  high 
posts  in  the  State  was  detrimental  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  Church  ;  but  it  was  even  worse 
policy  in  Scotland,  since  it  excited  the  jealousy 
of  the  Scottish  nobles,  and  also  the  anger  of  the 
Presbyterian  ministers,  who  were  far  sounder 
on  this  point  than  the  Church  divines.  Since 
at  this  time  the  influence  of  Laud  was  almost 


1  It  is  sad  to  think  that  (as  far  as  the  author  knows)  there  is 
no  memorial  erected  to  liis  memory  in  Scotland  hy  his  own 
Comnnmion,  while  the  Preshyterians — to  their  honour  be  it 
said — have  caused  his  statue  to  be  set  up  on  the  west  front  of 
St.  Giles'  Cathedral. 

2  Luckock^   The  Church  in  Scotland,  p.  179. 


186  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

supreme  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  this  bad  policy 
must  be  laid  to  his  charge. 

Durmg  the  reign  of  James  I.  (of  England), 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  not  used  in 
Scotland,  except  in  Holyrood  Chapel  during 
his  visit  to  Edinburgh  in  1G17.  He  gave 
orders  that  this  should  be  continued,  but 
Bellenden,  the  Dean,  seems  to  have  been 
remiss  in  obeying  this  command,  and  was 
consequently  admonished  by  Laud  in  1G33, 
with  the  result  that  he  complied.  Thus  it 
may  be  seen  how  cautious  and  gradual  was  the 
policy  of  James,  and  likewise  for  a  time  that  of 
Charles,  in  introducing  the  Prayer  Book  into 
the  northern  kingdom.  Although  in  1610  the 
episcopate  was  restored,  it  was  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  later  before  an  attempt 
was  made  to  introduce  the  Prayer  Book.  In 
1G29,  Maxwell,  a  divine  of  considerable  ability 
and  learning,  who  afterwards  became  bishop 
of  Ross,  was  sent  to  England  by  the  Scottish 
bishops  to  confer  with  those  in  authority  on 
this  matter.  He  first  applied  to  I^aud,  then 
bishop  of  London,  who  with  his  love  of 
uniformity  expressed  himself  in  favour  of  the 
Enghsli  book.  Maxwell,  in  the  spirit  of  a 
letifitimatc  nationalism  as  to  things  non-essen- 
tial,  pleaded  for  a  native  rite.^     In  this  he  was 

'  Iloylin,  p.  223. 


THE   SCOTTISH   PRAYER  BOOK         187 

speaking  for  the  rest  of  the  Scottish  episcopate. 
His  argument,  that  a  service-book  compiled  by- 
Scotsmen  would  be  more  acceptable  in  Scot- 
land, eventually  carried  the  day.  The  Scottish 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  mostly  the 
work  of  ^laxwell,  and  Wedderburn  bishop  of 
Dunblane.^  When  completed,  it  was  sub- 
mitted to  Laud,  who  called  in  the  assistance 
of  Juxon  and  Wren.  This  Prayer  Book  has 
often  been  called  Laud's  Liturgy — an  incorrect 
title,  inasmuch  as  it  was  not  compiled  by  him ; 
but  it  is  correct  so  far  as  his  influence  is  to  be 
traced  in  its  revision.  Of  the  two  bishops, 
AVedderburn,  a  ritualist  and  liturgiologist  of 
some  mark,  seems  to  have  had  most  to  do  with 
the  compilation  of  the  book,  although  Maxwell 
was  also  learned  in  liturgiology.  Both  bishops 
were  men  who  in  our  own  day  would  have 
been  designated  High  Churchmen ;  and  both 
were  men  of  exemplary  life.  It  is  also  worthy 
of  note  that  King  Charles,  a  devout  son  of  the 
Church  and  no  mean  theologian,  took  part  in 
the  work,  making  some  alterations  and  emend- 
ations. The  Scottish  Prayer  Book,  from  a 
Catholic  point  of  view,  was  undoubtedly 
superior  to  the  book  then  in  use  in  England, 
and  also  to  the  present  English  Prayer  Book  ; 

^  Cooper,   Book  of  Common    Prayer  of  1637^   Ediu.    1904, 
Introd.  xvi.-xx. 


188  LIFE    OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

notably  in  the  Communion  service,  where  in 
many  ways  a  return  was  made  to  the  "  Order 
for  Holy  Communion  or  Supper  of  the  Lord, 
commonly  called  the  Mass,"  in  the  Prayer 
Book  of  1549.' 

However   much  we   may   approve   of  this 
ser\qce   book,   the    "  Popish-Enghsh-Scottish- 
JVIasse-Service  Book,"  as  it  was  called  by  the 
Puritans,  no  one  can  overlook  its  lamentable 
and  tragic  history.     Its  short  hfe  was  in  truth 
a   chapter   of  "regrettable   incidents."     Both 
Charles    and   Laud    never   realized   the   true 
state    of    ecclesiastical    affairs    in    Scotland. 
Their  policy,  when  viewed  from  the  present 
day,  is  quite  inexplicable.      They  were  con- 
fronted  with    a    powerful   nobility,   smarting 
under  the  deprivation  of  their  ill-gotten  gains, 
and  with  a  fanatical  populace  swayed  by  a  not 
over-scrupulous  Puritan  ministry.     Two  fatal 
flaws   in   the   royal    and    ecclesiastical   action 
exasperated    the    Scottish    nation — Erastian- 
ism  and  a  disregard  of  Scottish   nationality. 
.Tames   I.,   in   his  ecclesiastical   dealings  with 
Scotland,  was  frankly  Erastian  and  despotic; 
and  this  policy  was  unfortunately  carried  on 
by  his  son.     the  herald  of  the  Prayer  Book 

'For  fuller  (k-tails  see  Professor  Coojjer's  rilile  work  on  the 
subject,  written  in  a  j,a'iier()us  ami  appreciative  spirit— a  remark- 
able testimony  from  a  Presbj^terian. 


THE   SCOTTISH   PRAYER   BOOK        189 

of  1637  were  the  Scottish  Canons  of  1G36,  an 
excellent  and  moderate  body  of  laws ;  but 
they  were  promulgated  solely  on  the  authority 
of  the  King.  They  contained,  moreover,  the 
extraordinary  statement  that  those  who  refused 
to  use  the  Scottish  Prayer  Book,  which  was 
not  then  even  in  existence,  were  to  be  excom- 
municated !  The  Prayer  Book  itself  was 
issued  upon  royal  authority,  neither  the 
Church  nor  the  people  being  in  any  way 
consulted.  Laud's  aim  was  to  unite  Scotland 
with  England  in  religious  belief,  to  put  the 
Scottish  Church  on  the  same  firm  historical 
basis  as  that  on  which  the  English  Church 
rested.  As  to  the  measures  adopted  to  carry 
out  his  desire,  he  was  not  able  to  control  them, 
since  one  can  hardly  think,  from  what  we  know 
of  his  opinions,  that  he  acquiesced  in  the  bold 
Erastianism  of  this  measure.  The  difficulties 
that  he  had  to  contend  with  in  converting  a 
people  definitely  Presbyterian  to  the  old  ways 
of  the  Church  were  immense.  Another  factor 
which  caused  the  failure  of  the  plans  of  Charles 
and  of  Laud,  was  the  clever  dissimulation  and 
perfidy  of  men  like  Traquair  and  others. 
Details  of  policy  were  purposely  arranged 
by  such  counsellors  in  order  to  bring  about 
disaster.  It  seems  only  too  likely  that  the 
putting  off  of  the  introduction  of  the  Prayer 


190  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

Book  from  Easter  Day  till  Whitsunday, 
through  the  influence  of  Traquair,  was  simply 
done  for  the  purpose  of  giving  more  time  to 
the  opponents  to  mature  their  plans.^  It  is 
not  necessary  here  to  enter  into  the  story  of 
the  f7ricas  at  St.  Giles',  when  the  Prayer  Book 
was  used  for  the  first  and  only  time,  and  that 
apparently  mythical  personage,  Jennie  Geddes,^ 
is  said  to  have  flung  her  stool  at  the  dean's 
head.  It  was  the  outbreak  of  a  carefully  pre- 
pared conspiracy,  the  details  of  the  riot  showing 
signs  of  elaborate  "  stage-managing  "  on  the 
part  of  the  leaders,  in  order  to  move  the 
populace.  The  influence  of  the  worst  side 
of  Presbyterianism  at  that  time,  combined 
with  the  covetousness  of  the  nobles,  who  were 
anxious  to  recover  their  plunder,  resulted — as 
far  as  the  cause  of  the  Church  was  concerned — 
in  disaster.  But  like  Laud's  work  in  England, 
disaster  in  due  time  was  followed  by  victory ; 
for,  after  the  vicissitudes  of  the  Common- 
wealth, the  State-made  ecclesiastical  prosperity 
of  the  Restoration,  and  the  persecutions  under 
William,  the  Scottish  Church  emerged,  a 
"remnant"  indeed,  despoiled  of  her  churches 
and  endowments,  from  a  worldly  standpoint 
a  religious  body  beneatli  contempt,  but  a 
communion   that   produced    such    bishops    as 

'  Heylin,  p.  329.  -  Stephen;  ii.  264. 


THE   SCOTTISH   PRAYER   BOOK        191 

Falconer,  Fullarton,  Sage  and  others,  and  a 
laity  strengthened  and  purified  by  persecution. 
A  learned  liturgical  writer  has,  moreover,  with 
great  force  pointed  out  that  the  Scottish  Prayer 
Book  of  1G37  was  not  such  a  failure  as  is  often 
imagined,  for  it  was  largely  made  use  of  by 
the  revisers  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  in 
1602.^  It  was  also  used  by  the  compilers  of 
the  Scottish  Communion  Service  of  1764, 
which  is  the  service  at  present  in  use  in  some 
parts  of  the  Scottish  Church. 

1  Luckock,   Studies  in  the  Hidory  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  Loud.  1882,  p.  230. 


CHAPTER  X 

LAUD  AND  THE   IRISH   CHURCH 

IRELAND   IN    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY — LAUD 

AND  STRAFFORD THE    IRISH  ARTICLES    AND 

CANONS 

In  considering  the  work  of  William  Laud  in 
Ireland,  it  will  be  well,  as  in  the  case  of  that 
in  Scotland,  to  refer  to  the  condition  of  the 
Church  in  that  land  as  he  found  it.  By  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Ireland 
could  no  longer  claim  to  be  considered  "  the 
Island  of  saints ; "  the  fine  gold  had  indeed 
become  dim.  Upon  the  land  lay  the  iron  hand 
of  English  oppression,  whilst  strife  and  warfare 
between  the  rival  chieftains  prevailed.  As  a 
modern  historian  has  aptly  expressed  it,  "  The 
ancient  glory  of  civilization  and  religion  had 
long  departed  from  her  :  an  universal  barbarism 
overspread  and  covered  all."^  JNIany  of  the 
monasteries  and  churches  were  falhnff  into 
ruin.  Church  services  were  infrequent,  the 
ministry  of  preaching  was  neglected  ;  altogether 

'  Dixon,  History  of  the  Church  of  England,  ii.  169. 

192 


^ 


2 

D 

b 
'J 


1 


■^    s 


'J  .2 

2    «v 


IRELAND   IN   SIXTEENTH   CENTURY      193 

religion  was  at  a  low  ebb.     The  rule  of  Henry 
VIII.  in  Ireland  was  harsh  and  tyrannical.    To 
a  gi'eat  extent  the  country  .""as  exploited  for 
what  could  be  got  out  of  it.     A  gang  of  royal 
commissioners  went  up  and  down,  fleecing  the 
land  on  behalf  of  the  King's  treasury.    Henry's 
plan  of  reformation  does  not  seem  to  have  had 
even  as  much  religion  about  it  as  was  the  case 
in  England.     If  the  leaders  of  reform  in  Eng- 
land were  inferior  men,  they  were  even  more 
inferior    in   Ireland.      Browne,    archbishop   of 
Dublin,  in  some  respects  resembled  Cranmer ; 
but,  if  reports  be  believed,  he  did  not   even 
resemble  Cranmer  in  decency  of  life.     During 
the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  amid  the  continued 
turmoil    and    strife    in  Ireland,  this    so-called 
reformation  made  but  little  progress,  although 
it  was  helped  by  the  inftituation  and  weakness 
of  Dowdal,  archbishop  of  Arinagh,  the  leader 
of  the  old  learning,  who  refused  to  meet  his 
opponents    at   the    ecclesiastical   assembly   at 
Dublin ;    an    action   which   strengthened   the 
hands    of    Browne    and    his     followers.       In 
England,    Cranmer   experienced   the   greatest 
difficulty  in  getting  some  of  the  lights  of  his 
party  to  adxenture  themselves  into  this  tur- 
bulent  land,  in    order  to  occupy  the  vacant 
sees  of  Armagh  and  Ossory,  Dowdal  having 
vacated  the  former. 
13 


194  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

At  length  from  the  household  of  the  notor- 
ious Poynet,  two  divmes  consented  to  go — 
Goodacre  and  Bale.  The  latter,  a  man  of 
some  eminence  in  his  party,  an  advocate  of  the 
extremest  Protestantism,  a  writer  ot  consider- 
able learning ;  but  in  whose  pages  scurrilous 
and  foul-mouthed  buffoonery  abound.  To 
him  we  are  indebted — in  his  narrative  of  his 
brief  tenure  of  the  see  of  Ossory,  which  lasted 
till  the  accession  of  Mary — for  a  graphic  picture 
of  the  religious  state  of  Ireland.  If  the  reform- 
ing party  were  as  a  rule  mere  tools  of  the 
English  monarch,  the  adherents  of  the  old 
system  were  mostly  ignorant  and  unspiritual 
men.  We  search  in  vain  for  a  Latimer  or  a 
Fisher  in  Ireland.  The  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  was  introduced  in  1550 :  but  being  in 
English,  it  was  no  more  understood  by  the 
people  than  the  old  Latin  service.  Not  imtil 
1G08  was  the  Prayer  Book  translated  into  the 
Irish  tongue.  The  same  delay  marked  the 
translation  of  the  Bible,  for  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  not  translated  until  1G()2,  and  the 
Old  Testament  in  Irish  was  not  issued  until 
1G85. 

In  the  reign  of  James  I.,  colonists  were  im- 
ported from  Scotland,  bringing  with  them  the 
rankest  Calvinism,  together  with  open  hostility 
to  the  Prayer  JJook.     Sir  iVrUuir  Chichester, 


IRELAND   IN    SIXTEENTH   CENTURY      195 

the  Lord  Deputy,  was  a  pupil  of  Cartwright, 
and  thus  additional  weight  was  given  to 
the  Puritan  cause.  In  1562,  the  XXXIX. 
Articles  were  accepted  by  the  Anglo- Irish 
Church;  but  in  1015,  partly  through  the 
ascendency  of  Puritanism,  and  partly  through 
a  desire  for  a  native  confession,  a  new  series  of 
Articles  was  drawn  up,  in  which  were  incor- 
porated the  celebrated  Lambeth  Articles 
containing  the  five  points  of  Calvinism.  The 
compiler  of  these  articles  was  James  Ussher, 
a  man  of  gi'eat  ability  and  erudition,  who  in 
1620  was  consecrated  bishop  of  JNIeath,  and  in 
1024  was  raised  to  the  archbishopric  of  Armagh. 
By  accepting  the  new  Irish  Articles,  the  Irish 
Church  formally  committed  herself  to  Calvin- 
ism ;  a  thing  which  the  English  Church  has 
never  done.  Such  was  the  position  of  the 
Irish  Church  during  the  earlier  portion  of 
Laud's  episcopate,  when  his  influence  in  the 
English  Church  was  making  itself  felt. 

In  the  year  1028,  William  Bedell,  provost 
of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  an  Englishman  of 
learning  and  cultin*e,  and  an  opponent  of 
Puritanism,  through  the  efforts  of  Laud,  was 
consecrated  bishop  of  Kilmore  and  Ardagh. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  a  better  state  of 
things.  One  of  his  letters  to  Laud  describes 
the  sad  state  in  which  he  found  his  diocese, 


196  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

and  the  fearful  depredations  in  the  tem- 
porahties  of  the  see,  committed  by  his 
predecessor :  the  cathedral  of  Ardagh  and  the 
bishop's  house  were  in  ruins,  the  parish  churches 
were  most  of  them  falling  to  pieces,  unroofed 
and  unrepaired  ;  while  the  Roman  Communion 
in  that  part  of  the  country  was  in  a  flourishing 
condition/  In  1633,  Laud's  power  was  much 
greater,  since  at  this  time  he  was  archbishop 
of  Canterbury ;  and  also,  in  this  same  year, 
his  personal  friend,  Sir  Thomas  Wentworth, 
afterwards  the  Earl  of  Strafford,  arrived  in 
Ireland  as  Lord  Deputy,  attended  by  his 
chaplain  John  Bramhall,  one  of  the  most 
learned  theologians  of  the  Laudian  school. 
Another  thing  that  increased  Laud's  power  in 
Ireland  was  the  fact  that  he  had  been  elected 
to  the  Chancellorship  of  the  University  of 
Dublin.  In  Bramhall,  he  possessed  a  lieu- 
tenant of  ability,  and  one  who  had  a  whole- 
hearted devotion  to  the  Church.  In  a  few 
sentences  of  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Laud 
after  his  arrival  in  Ireland,  he  conveys  a 
forcible  description  of  the  condition  of  affairs 
— "  It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  churches  be 
more  ruinous  and  sordid,  or  the  people  irre- 
verent, even  in  Dublin.    .    .    .    To  begin  the 

'  Maiit,  Irhli  Church,  i.   435,   ([U.  IJaines,  Life  of  Laud,  pp. 
164,  155. 


LAUD    AND   STRAFFORD  197 

inquisition  where  the  reformation  will  begin, 
we  find  one  parochial  church  converted  to  the 
Lord  Deputy's  stable,  a  second  to  a  nobleman's 
dwelling-house,  the  quire  of  a  third  to  a  tennis- 
court,  and  the  vicar  acts  the  keeper ! "  At 
Christ  Church  Cathedral  in  Dublin  he  describes 
how  "  the  table  used  for  the  administration  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  the  midst  of  the 
quire,  made  an  ordinary  seat  for  maids  and 
apprentices."^ 

Assuredly,  the  Church  in  Ireland  was  now 
entering  upon  a  reformation  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  term,  very  different  from  the  plundering 
and  sacrilege  that  prevailed  during  the  reigns 
of  Henry  and  Edward.  At  the  outset  of  this 
genuine  reformation,  we  find  King  Charles 
nobly  coming  forward  and  restoring  all  the 
Crown  impropriations,  and  his  generous 
example  was  followed  by  Wentworth  and 
others  of  the  nobility.  I^aud  himself  advanced 
£40,000  for  buying  up  the  alienated  tithes. 
One  of  the  first  steps  that  he  seems  to  have 
taken  was  the  reformation  of  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  the  training  school  of  most  of  the  Irish 
clergy.  In  this  work  he  was  heartily  assisted 
by  the  Lord  Deputy.  New  statutes  were 
drawn  up,  and  eventually  he  procured  the 
appointment  of  Chappell,  dean  of  Cashel,  a 

1  Maut_,  Irish  Church,  i.  448. 


198  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

man  of  learning  and  ability  as  provost.  Dublin 
flourished  under  Laud's  chancellorship,  as  was 
the  case  with  the  University  of  Oxford. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to 
enter  into  the  political  actions  and  aims  of 
Lord  Strafford,  nor  have  we  the  space  to  do 
so.  Sufficient  to  say,  that  he  acted,  to  a  great 
extent,  as  a  rough  soldier  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  To  his  lord  and  master,  the  King, 
he  was  devotedly  loyal ;  to  the  enemies  and 
opponents  of  the  King,  he  was  harsh  and 
severe.  He  was  no  respecter  of  persons.  In 
a  turbulent  and  unsettled  country,  this  kind  of 
rule  is  often  best,  and  indeed  at  the  present 
day  to  wage  war  "  in  kid  gloves  "  has  often 
ended  in  a  longer  campaign  and  more  blood- 
shed, than  if  stern  measures  had  been  taken 
at  the  outset.  That  Ireland  prospered,  from  a 
material  point  of  view,  under  the  iron  rule 
of  Strafford  caimot  be  denied  :  manufactures 
and  agriculture  were  fostered,  and  he  was 
the  means  of  introducing  the  cultivation  of 
flax  into  the  country.  From  previous  Lord 
Deputies  he  differed  in  being  an  ardent  sup- 
porter of  the  Church ;  and,  in  consequence, 
the  aims  of  I^aud  were  furthered.  Tliere  is  the 
hinnorous  story  of  how  tlie  site  of  the  high 
altar  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  was  occupied 
by  a  costly  and  florid  monumental  tomb  erected 


LAUD   AND   STRAFFORD  199 

by  the  Earl  of  Cork.  Here  was  a  gross  scandal 
to  be  remedied  :  how  was  the  great  man  to  be 
dealt  with  ?  To  Strafford  there  was  no  diffi- 
culty whatever.  In  spite  of  the  noble  owner's 
indignant  expostulations,  he  was  made  to  take 
the  cumbrous  structure  to  pieces,  and  to  remove 
them.  Afterwards,  in  a  letter  to  Laud,  Straf- 
ford jestingly  alludes  to  the  episode.  He 
wi'ites — "  How  he  means  to  dispose  of  it  I 
know  not ;  but  up  it  is  put  in  boxes,  as  it  were 
marchpanes  and  banquetting  stuffs  going  down 
to  the  christening  of  my  young  lord  in  the 
country." 

The  friendship  of  Laud  and  Strafford  was 
remarkable  :  both  men  pursuing  their  policy  of 
"  thorough,"  as  they  called  it,  in  Church  and 
State,  both  were  devoted  servants  of  the  King, 
and  alike  regardless  of  their  own  personal 
interests.  In  their  correspondence,  as  has  been 
already  noticed.  Laud,  who  had  "  the  care  of 
all  the  Churches  "  upon  his  shoulders,  would 
unbend  ;  and  at  times  a  vein  of  liomely  humour 
is  to  be  seen ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
Strafford.  The  old  rivalry  between  the  two 
great  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  is 
sometimes  the  subject  of  a  little  banter :  both 
men  were  Johnians,  and  upheld  their  respective 
universities.  In  these  letters  we  find  Laud, 
who  was  no  friend  to  those  of  his  own  order  if 


200  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

they  walked  unworthy  of  their  ^^ocation,  waxing 
warm  in  the  condemnation  of  some  of  the 
sorry  specimens  of  the  episcopate  who  were 
then  to  be  found  in  Ireland.  Strafford  is  asked 
to  keep  them  "from  their  sacred  alienations"; 
reference  is  made  to  "  trouncing  a  bishop  or 
two  in  the  council  chamber " ;  certain  bishops 
are  "to  disgorge  their  sacred  pelf."  Laud  is 
severe  with  these  spiritual  miscreants,  and  they 
richly  deserved  his  severity. 

But  the  piece  de  rcsistcuice  in  the  work  of 
reformation  was  undoubtedly  the  suppression 
of  the  Irish  Articles  of  1615,  in  favour  of 
the  XXXIX.  Articles.  To  bring  about  this 
appeared  at  first  an  impossible  feat.  Of  the 
bisliops,  only  two  could  be  relied  upon,  Bedell 
of  Kilmore,  and  Bramhall  who  was  now  bishop 
of  Derry ;  while  their  opponents  were  led  by 
such  an  able  champion  as  Ussher.  Ussher  was 
persuaded  by  Laud  of  the  advisability  of  the 
change,  but  he  seems  to  have  had  some  diffi- 
culty in  converting  his  colleagues,  wliose 
nationalism  hindered  them  from  repudiating 
the  Irish  vVrticles.  At  this  juncture  Strafford 
stepped  in,  and  managed  tlie  matter  moix  siio 
in  a  rough  and  ready  military  fashion.  He 
summoned  the  Primate,  some  of  the  bishops 
and  otlicr  divines  to  the  Castle,  and  told  them 
his  wishes.      On  Usslicr  (h-awiiig  out  a  canon 


THE   IRISH   ARTICLES  AND   CANONS     201 

^ibout  receiving  the  English  Articles,  Strafford 
pronounced  it  unsatisfactory,  and  seizing  a  pen 
forthwith  proceeded  to  write  one  out  himself. 
This  canon  was  accordingly  all  but  unanimously 
passed  by  the  Irish  Convocation,  and  thus  the 
victory  was  gained.    Bramhall  afterwards,  with 
more   zeal   than   wisdom,   proposed   that   the 
English  Canons  should  be  submitted  to   the 
Irish  Convocation  ;  but  Strafford  wisely  vetoed 
such  a  suggestion.    Like  a  wise  ruler,  he  knew 
when  to  stay  his  hand.     The  drawing  up  of  a 
new  code  of  Irish  Canons  was  entrusted   to 
Bramhall,  who  compiled  a  body  of  a  hundred 
canons.     Two  of  these  canons  are  worthy  of 
notice,  as  showing  a  return  to  "old  paths," — a 
prominent  feature  in  the  Laudian  reformation. 
Canon  XIX.  directs  the  parish  priest,  on  the 
afternoon  before  the  celebration  of  the  Holy 
Communion,  to  tarry  in  the  church  and  toll  a 
bell,  so  that  those  of  his  people  who  wish  to 
make  their  confessions  may  resort  to  him,  and 
obtain  "  the  benefit   of    Absolution."     Canon 
XLIX.  forbids  marriages  in  Lent,  or  on  any 
public  fast,  and  during  the  festivals  of  Christ- 
mas, Easter,    the   Ascension   and    Pentecost. 
The    Irish  Articles  of   1(315  were  not   foriu- 
ally  repealed ;    they   were  suppressed    by  the 
XXXIX.    Articles,    and    so    died    a    natural 
death.     This    course   was    wise.     One    feeble 


202  LIFE   OF    WILLIAM  LAUD 

effort,  indeed,  was  made  for  the  restoration 
by  authority  of  Parhament  of  the  Articles  of 
1615  ;  but  the  Lord  Deputy  thereupon  coolly 
suggested  their  consignment  to  the  common 
hangman  for  a  public  auto  da  fe!  After  this 
nothing  more  was  heard  of  the  matter.  At 
the  end  of  Strafford's  rule  in  Ireland  it  is  said 
that  the  Church  was  more  wealthy  by  £30,000 
a  year,  than  when  it  commenced. 

Such  is  a  brief  account  of  the  Laudian 
reformation  m  Ireland.  Certainly  it  was  not 
perfect,  and  it  is  impossible  to  defend  Laud's 
methods,  but  of  their  success,  in  those  days  at 
least,  there  can  be  no  question.  The  plan  of 
usinff  the  Crown  as  an  instrument  for  reform- 
ing  the  Church  invites  adverse  criticism, 
inasmuch  as  it  identified  salutary  measures  of 
reform  with  the  despotism  of  Enghsh  rule. 
As  in  the  case  of  Scotland,  it  must  nevertheless 
be  remembered  that  almost  insurmountable 
difficulties  existed,  and  that  Laud's  course  was 
perhaps  the  only  one  that  could  be  adopted. 
It  may  be  said  that  Laud  was  like  a  great 
general  with  but  a  small  force  at  his  command. 
With  that  force  he  worked  wonders.  He 
checked  the  advance  of  Puritanism.  Doubt- 
less also  the  fact  that  the  Lord  Deputy 
liappcncd  to  be  a  man  whose  sympathies  were 
on  tlie  side  of  the  Church,  caused  Laud  thus 


THE   IRISH   ARTICLES   AND   CANONS     203 

to   depend   unduly   upon   the   power    of  tlie 
Crown. 

It  is  a  strange  picture,  the  soldier  and  the 
bishop  working  hand-in-hand,  with  but  a  small 
body  of  coadjutors,  for  the  regeneration  of  the 
Church.  They  both  did  great  things,  and 
humanly  speaking  they  both  failed.  Not  many 
years  after  they  met  as  condemned  men  :  Straf- 
ford went  his  way  to  the  block,  and  Laud  was 
soon  to  follow  him.  The  story  of  that  pathetic 
meeting  is  well  known.  The  gallant  soldier, 
w^ho  had  served  his  King  so  faithfully,  kneels 
outside  the  grated  window  of  his  comrade's 
prison,  and  requests  his  prayers  and  parting 
blessing.  Laud  gives  them,  and  Strafford 
answers,  "  Farewell  my  Lord,  may  God  pro- 
tect your  innocence,"  and  so  he  passes  to  his 
tragic  end. 


CHAPTER  XI 

LAUD  :  HIS  TROUBLES 

GATHERING       OF       THE       STORM  ANIMOSITY 

AGAINST     I.AUD CONVOCATION     AND    THE 

CANONS    OF   1640 — I.AUD  ACCUSED    OF    HIGH 

TREASON THE   TRIAL THE  IMPRISONMENT 

PRYNNE BILL       OF       ATTAINDER LAUD 

SENTENCED  TO    DEATH 

In  the  previous  chapters  of  this  biogi-aphy, 
we  have  traced  the  hfe  of  Laud  from  his 
birth  till  about  the  year  1639  ;  ^  followed  by 
an  account  of  his  work  of  reform,^  his  private 
and  devotional  life,^  his  attitude  towards  the 
cause  of  Reunion,^  and  learning,''  and  of  his 
work  and  policy  in  Scotland  and  Ireland.^ 
We  now  take  up  the  narrative  of  his  life  as 
Primate,  and  enter  into  the  story  of  his 
Troubles,  which  include  his  imprisonment 
and  trial. 

The  ominous    presentiments   of   a   mighty 

'  Ch.  i.  ii.  iii.  iv.        2  (jh.  V.        ••'  Ch.  vi.         <  Ch.  vii. 
"  Ch.  viii.  "C'li.  ix.  x. 

204 


GATHERING   OF  THE   STORM  205 

conflict  between  the  forces  of  the  Church  and 
Puritanism  have  been  ah-eady  referred  to. 
After  the  tumult  in  Edinburgh  in  the  summer 
of  1G37,  these  presages  became  still  more 
obvious.  The  rumbling  of  the  coming 
eruption  was  heard  by  all  men.  While  it 
is  true  that  Laud  himself  was  singularly 
incapable  of  grasping  the  state  of  affairs, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  at  times  he  felt  un- 
easy. The  great  flaws  in  the  Laudian  Re- 
formation were  manifesting  themselves.  The 
dependence  of  the  Church  upon  the  arm  of 
the  State  to  carry  out  her  work,  her  alliance 
with  absolute  power — such  a  policy  was  about 
to  recoil  upon  the  Church  and  for  a  time  to 
cause  her  fall.  Now-a-days  it  is  quite  possible 
for  us  to  conceive  a  man  holding  the  political 
views  of  Pym,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
religious  views  of  Bishop  William  Forbes, — 
such  opinions  are  not  necessarily  inconsistent 
with  one  another,  and  such  men  are  not  un- 
common at  the  present  day  ;  but  in  the  days 
of  Laud,  they  do  not  seem  to  have  existed. 
This  union  of  the  Church  with  Absolutism! 
made  her  unpopular  in  the  eyes  of  thousands  \ 
of  Englishmen,  and  the  fact  was  eagerly  made  I 
use  of  by  political  Puritanism.  ' 

On  April  13,  1640,  what  has  been  called  the 
Short  Parliament  was  summoned,  and  according 


206  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

to  custom  Convocation  also  assembled.  The 
Scottish  Rebellion  was  now  in  full  force,  and 
Convocation  showed  its  loyalty  by  voting 
the  King  subsidies  for  the  war,  after  which  it 
proceeded  to  formulate  certain  Canons.  Mean- 
while matters  were  going  from  bad  to  worse 
with  the  Royal  cause.  Strafford,  weighed  down 
by  ill-health,  was  making  a  gallant  struggle  in 
the  north  against  tremendous  obstacles.  There 
were  difficulties  in  the  way  of  pro^  isioning  and 
paying  the  troops,  and  dissensions  and  intrigues 
were  rife  amongst  the  King's  party.  To  add 
to  these  troubles,  a  Popish  Plot  was  fabricated. 
One  Habernfeld  professed  to  have  discovered 
it  at  the  Hague,  and  the  story  was  sprung 
upon  the  nation  e\'idently  at  the  psychological 
moment.  Some  of  those  nearest  to  the  King, 
of  the  Roman  faith  and  of  undoubted  loyalty, 
were  said  to  be  implicated  ;  and  this  so-called 
plot  was  evidently  concocted  in  order  to  detach 
them  from  his  person.  Later,  as  we  shall  see, 
the  unscrupulous  A\^illiam  Prynne  made  use  of 
it  in  order  to  ruin  the  Archbishop.  Even  Laud 
seems  to  have  thought  it  credible,  but  one  nnist 
remember  that  all  this  took  place  in  days  less 
than  half  a  ccntiny  removed  from  the  time 
wlien  the  Britisli  nation  lost  its  head  over  the 
"  I'opish  Plot"  of  that  infamous  scoundrel 
Titus  Oatcs,  with  the  result  that  numbers  of 


GATHERING   OF  THE   STORM  207 

innocent  men  were  judicially  murdered.  Thus 
the  credulity  of  people  on  this  occasion  need 
not  surprise  us.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
the  so-called  plot  was  manufactured  in  Puritan 
quarters. 

In  the  midst  of  these  confusions,  Charles 
made  things  worse  by  impulsively  dissolving 
Parliament :  an  act  which  distressed  his  sup- 
porters and  angered  his  opponents.  This  step 
was  falsely  laid  to  the  credit  of  Laud,  and 
popular  feeling  against  the  Archbishop  was 
still  further  increased  by  Con\'ocation,  at  the 
desire  of  the  King,  and  on  the  advice  of  the 
Crown  lawyers,  continuing  to  sit  after  the 
dissolution  of  Parliament,  contrary  to  pre- 
cedent. In  the  month  of  May,  Charles  and 
Strafford  being  absent  from  the  capital,  an 
organized  assault  was  made  upon  Lambeth 
Palace  by  the  rabble  five  hundred  strong,  who 
evidently  thirsted  for  the  blood  of  the  Arch- 
bishop. Fortunately  Laud  was  aware  of  their 
plans,  and  slept  that  night  at  Whitehall ;  and 
Lambeth,  being  well  defended,  withstood  the 
attack.  According  to  the  harsh  usage  of  the 
day,  on  the  ringleaders  being  apprehended,  one 
of  them  was  executed. 

The  animosity  against  Laud  in  London  and 
throughout  the  country  at  this  period  appears 
to  have  been  widely  spread,  owing  to  the  fact 


208  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

that  he  was  the  great  leader  of  the  Church,  and 
also,  as  has  been  noticed,  because  the  Church 
seemed  inseparably  connected  with  the  Crown. 
This  feeling  was  cleverly  taken  advantage  of  by 
the  wire-pullers  of  the  Parliamentary  party, 
and  it  was  accordingly  engineered  for  political 
purposes.  In  no  way  was  this  more  skilfully 
done,  than  by  the  system  ot  printed  libels 
which  now  flooded  the  country.  Thus  the 
minds  of  the  populace  were  effectively  poisoned, 
especially  as  truth  was  of  little  account  in  such 
publications.  Most  of  these  libels  were  en- 
riched with  crude  pictorial  embellishments, 
which  tended  to  carry  further  weight,  and 
appealed  even  to  those  who  were  unable  to 
read.  As  early  as  the  year  1629,  the  Ubels 
against  the  Archbishop  made  their  appear- 
ance ;  about  1640,  they  seem  to  have  reached 
their  height,  and  were  distributed  broadcast. 
A  considerable  ninnber  of  these  publications 
have  been  preserved  to  this  day.  They  exhibit 
most  of  them  a  coarseness  and  virulence,  to- 
gether with  what  passed  for  wit,  but  which 
dou})tless  was  extremely  telling  in  the  esti- 
mation of  their  readers.  Such  publications 
may  be  perhaps  described  as  corresponding 
to  the  "  gutter-press "  of  the  present  day. 
This  flood  of  venemous  libels  was  indeed  an 
ominous   sign   of    the    rising    liatrcd    of   the 


Laud's  Tkiai-  in  the  Housk  ok  Lords. 

(A)  Laud.    (I!)  f'icntlem.in  Usher.    (C)  Lieutenant  of  Tower.    (I))  liishops.     (E)  Clerk 


reading  evidence.     (!•')  Talile  where  books  and  papers  lay.     (( 
of  Commons.    (H)  Mr.  Henry  Hurton.     (I)  Witnesses.    (K 
and  Auditors.     (I.)  The  Lords 


)   Nl embers 
(k)  IVople 


{To  face  p.  209. 


THE   CANONS   OF   1610  209 

dominant  faction.  T^aiid,  with  his  sensitive 
nature,  felt  intensely  the  insults  and  calumnies 
heaped  upon  him,  but  he  bore  them  as  a 
Christian :  "I  thank  God,  He  made  me 
patient,"  "  God  forgive  them,"  are  the  words 
in  his  Diary ;  and,  in  the  true  spirit  of  an 
ecclesiastic,  he  continues,  "  It  grieved  me 
more  for  my  calling,  than  for  my  person." 

Convocation,  guarded  by  a  force  of  the 
trained  bands,  meanwhile  courageously  con- 
tinued its  labours  and  compiled  and  pro- 
mulgated a  body  of  Canons,  commonly  called 
the  Canons  of  1G40 :  some  of  them  were 
remarkable.  The  first  canon  contained  an 
exaggerated  statement  of  the  Royal  preroga- 
tive, which  no  one  could  possibly  accept 
now-a-days,  and  which  at  the  time  was  more 
than  injudicious.  Another  canon  for  "  sup- 
pressing "  Romanism,  and  "  reducing  Papists 
to  the  Church,"  in  the  harsh  and  ruthless 
fashion  of  the  seventeenth  century,  is  as  little 
capable  of  defence.  It  is  however  interesting 
to  observe  that  this  canon  was  the  work  of 
Laud  himself,  and  to  all  fair-minded  men  is 
a  proof  that  the  popular  accusation  of  his 
being  "  Popishly  affected "  was  not  only 
malevolent,  but  also  manifestly  unjust.  An- 
other canon  enjoined  and  temperately  defended 
the  ancient   custom  of   bowing   towards   the 

14 


SIO  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Holy  Table.  This  canon  is  important  in 
authoritatively  confirming  the  truth,  which  the 
Edwardian  divines  and  the  Puritans  denied, 
that  the  Lord's  Table  is  also  the  Christian 
Altar,  the  upholding  of  which  truth  was  part 
of  the  life-work  of  William  Laud.  But  what 
is  perhaps  the  most  important  feature  of  the 
Convocation  of  1640  was  the  imposition  of  an 
oath  upon  all  ecclesiastics,  causing  them  to 
approve  of  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  making  them  promise 
never  to  bring  in  Popish  doctrines,  nor  consent 
to  the  alteration  of  the  government  of  the 
Church  by  Archbishops,  Bishops,  Deans,  Arch- 
deacons, &c.  The  termination  of  the  clause 
with  tiie  words  et  ccetera,  a  trifling  and  innocent 
device  in  order  to  seciu'e  brevity,  was  at  once 
seized  upon  by  the  enemies  of  the  Church ; 
and  with  an  ingenuity  that  is  prodigious,  they 
interpreted  the  et  ccetei^a  to  include  the  entire 
Romish  system  I  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether 
the  ingenuity  of  the  commentators  or  the 
gullibility  of  the  rank  and  file  was  tlie  greater. 
On  Novembers,  1G40,  the  Long  Parliament 
assembled — an  ominous  day,  for  it  was  the  anni- 
versary of  the  meeting  of  the  Parliament  that 
voted  for  tlic  dissolution  of  the  monasteries. 
The  populace  of  I^ondon  was  in  a  ferment,  and 
serious  riots  took  place.     The  Court  of  High 


THE   CANONS   OF   1640  211 

Commission  had  been  invaded  by  a  mob  of 
fanatics,  who  tore  up  the  benches,  and  yelled, 
"  No  Bishops  !  no  High  Commission  ! "  The 
libels  upon  Laud  were  being  disseminated  far 
and  wide.  From  a  person  unknown  to  him, 
who  had  just  returned  from  the  north,  he  re- 
ceived warning  that,  amongst  the  Scots  the 
hope  was  expressed  that  he  might  come  to 
his  end  in  the  same  way  as  did  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham. 

At  Lambeth,  on  October  27,  Laud  found 
his  portrait  which  hung  in  his  study  lying  on 
its  face,  the  cord  that  suspended  it  having 
snapped.  He  notes  this  in  his  Diary.  Many 
would  have  done  the  same  under  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  time.  Yet  Laud  was  made 
of  stouter  stuff  than  to  quail  in  those  days  of 
trouble,  when  everything  seemed  to  be  point- 
ing to  disaster.  He  manfully  took  his  place  in 
Parliament,  and  preached  before  Convocation. 
New  forms  for  the  consecration  of  churches 
and  churchyards,  a  form  for  the  reconciling  of 
those  who  had  lapsed  to  JNIohammedanism,  a 
Welsh  translation  of  the  Bible,  a  new  Latin 
Prayer  Book — such  were  some  of  the  matters 
which  were  to  have  been  taken  in  hand. 
Many  of  the  brethren  must  have  doubted  the 
accomplishment  of  these  schemes. 

On  November  11,  the  blow  fell:  Strafford  was 


212  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

accused  by  Pym  in  the  name  of  the  Commons 
of  England  of  High  Treason,  and  was  removed 
to  the  Tower.  About  a  month  after  this,  the 
new  canons  were  condemned  by  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  it  is  not  wonderful  that  some 
of  their  political  statements  should  have  been 
so  treated.  On  December  18,  Laud  was 
violently  attacked  in  the  House,  Sir  Grimston 
Harbottle,  in  the  refined  language  of  political 
Puritanism,  describing  him  as  "  the  sty  of  all 
the  pestilential  filth  which  had  infested  the  State 
and  government  of  the  Commonwealth."  ^  On 
the  same  day  Denzil  HoUis  accused  William, 
Lord  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  of  High 
Treason  praying  that  he  might  be  committed 
to  safe  custody,  and  promising  later  on  to 
specify  the  charges.  Laud  craved  leave  to 
speak,  and  expressed  his  sorrow  that  such  a 
charge  should  be  brought  against  an  innocent 
man.  He  was  rudely  interrupted  by  Lord 
Essex,  and  browbeaten  by  Lord  Saye  and 
Sele,  and  finally  committed  to  the  charge  of 
INIaxwell,  Usher  of  the  Black  Hod.  With 
considerable  difHculty  he  obtained  leave  to  go 
to  Lambeth  to  collect  his  papers,  and  a  few 
books  to  read  diuing  his  imprisonment. 

'I'he  story  of  this  visit  to  Lambeth,  the  last 
time  he  ever  set  foot  there,  is  one  of  the  most 

'  Cobbctt,  ISlate  Triak,  iv.  317. 


LAUD   ACCUSED   OF   HIGH   TREASON    213 

touching  and  pathetic  scenes  in  EngHsh History. 
In  the  history  of  his  Troubles  he  has  preserved 
to  us  an  account  of  it.^  Diu-ing  the  course  of 
his  business  on  that  sad  December  afternoon, 
he  shpped  away  to  the  chapel,  where  Evensong 
was  being  sung,  and  took  part  in  that  service 
in  which  he  was  never  again  pubhcly  to  join 
upon  earth.  One  may  well  imagine  what  he 
must  have  felt  in  that  beautiful  building  where 
he  had  so  often  worshipped,  and  which  he  had 
restored  to  something  like  its  pristine  glory. 
The  sortes  liturgicce  were  strangely  appropriate 
to  the  occasion.  The  choir  chanted  the  psalms 
for  the  18th  evening  of  the  month,  in  which 
the  following  words  occur : 

The  floods  are  risen,  O  Lord,  the  floods  have  lift  up 
their  voice  :  the  floods  lift  up  their  waves. 

The  waves  of  the  sea  are  mighty,  and  rage  horribly  : 
but  yet  the  Lord  who  dwelleth  on  high,  is  mightier.  .   .  . 

In  the  multitude  of  the  sorrows  that  I  had  in  my 
heart  :  thy  comforts  have  refreshed  my  soul.  .  .   . 

They  gather  them  together  against  the  soul  of  the 
righteous  :  and  condemn  the  innocent  blood. 

But  the  Lord  is  my  refuge  :  and  my  God  is  the 
strength  of  my  confidence.  ^ 

The  words  of  Isaiah  in  the  first  lesson  were 
likewise  appropriate : 

For  the  Lord  God  will  help  me  ;  therefore  shall  I 
not  be  confounded  :  therefore  have  I  set  my  face  like 
a  flint,  and  I  know  that  I  shall  not  be  ashamed. 

*  Laud's  Works  (Troubles),  iii.  270,  277.      ^  I's.  xciii.  aud  xciv. 


214  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

He  is  near  that  justifieth  me ;  who  will  contend 
with  me  ?  let  us  stand  together  :  who  is  mine  adversary  ? 
let  him  come  near  to  me. 

Behold  the  Lord  God  will  help  me  ;  who  is  he  that 
shall  condemn  me  ?  Lo,  they  all  shall  wax  old  as  a 
gannent ;   the  moth  shall  eat  them  up. 

Who  is  among  you  that  feareth  the  Lord,  that 
obeyeth  the  voice  of  his  servant,  that  walketh  in 
darkness  and  hath  no  light  ?  let  him  trust  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  and  stay  upon  his  God.^ 

The  second  lesson  was  equally  befitting  the 
occasion,  in  which  St.  Peter  speaks  of  shortly- 
putting  off  this  tabernacle.^  As  the  service 
concluded  and  the  organ  ceased,  we  can  picture 
the  aged  Primate  on  his  knees  in  his  stall, 
looking  up  at  the  fair  altar  that  he  himself 
had  reared,  with  its  goodly  hangings  and 
ornaments,  saying  in  this  chapel  a  last  prayer 
to  God.  Later,  in  the  cold  winter's  evening, 
Laud  stepped  into  the  boat  which  was  to 
convey  him  to  the  charge  of  the  Usher  of  the 
Black  Rod.  It  is  remarkable  to  note  that  on 
this  occasion  hundreds  of  his  poorer  neighbours 
crowded  to  the  water-side  to  see  him  off, — 
men  and  women  who  had  doubtless  been 
helped  })y  liim  both  temporally  and  spirit- 
ually, who  had  watched  his  blameless  life  and 
conversation,  who  refused  to  believe  the  vile 
calumnies  circulated  against  him.  These  people 
prayed  aloud  for  his  safe  return,  which,  alas. 

'  Isaiah  1.  7-11.  ^  2  S.  Peter,  i.  U. 


LAUD   ACCUSED   OF   HIGH   TREASON    215 

was  never  to  be.  Having  given  them  his 
blessing,  the  boat  pulled  out  into  the  stream, 
and  ^^^illiam  Laud  had  left  I^rambeth  for  ever. 
That  memorable  afternoon  of  December  18, 
1640,  the  quiet  service  in  the  chapel,  the  com- 
fort and  help  of  the  Scripture  message  seem  to 
have  been  ever  present  in  his  mind  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  and  day  by  day  he  would 
repeat  Psalms  xciii.  and  xciv. 

Laud  remained  ten  weeks  under  the  charge 
of  Maxwell,  during  which  time  he  was  put 
to  ruinous  charges  for  his  maintenance.  By 
his  gentleness  and  resignation  in  his  cap- 
tivity, he  quite  converted  Mrs.  Maxwell  to  a 
belief  in  his  innocency :  she  reported  him  to 
one  of  her  friends  as  one  of  the  "  goodest  men 
and  most  pious  souls  "  that  she  had  ever  met.  ^ 
During  his  sojourn  with  Maxwell,  Sir  Robert 
Howard,  smarting  under  the  punishment  that 
he  had  received  from  the  High  Commission 
Court  for  his  adultery  with  Lady  Purbeck, 
applied  to  the  House  of  Commons.  This 
body,  in  their  hatred  of  Laud  and  in  their 
sympathy  with  the  profligate,  ordered  the 
Primate  to  pay  damages  of  £500,  and  his 
officials  to  pay  £250  each  ! 

At  length  on  February  2G,  1G41,  fourteen 
articles    of    impeachment    of  High    Treason 

1  Heyliu,  Cypriunus  Anylicun,  p.  436. 


216  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

were  brought  against  Laud  by  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  he  was  compelled  to  go  to  the 
House  of  Lords  to  hear  them.  The  fourteen 
articles  set  forth  that  he  had  endeavoured  to 
subvert  the  laws  of  the  realm,  encouraged  by 
sermons  and  otherwise  assertions  of  arbitrary 
power,  perverted  justice  in  the  law-courts, 
published  a  pernicious  book  of  canons  without 
authority,  assumed  a  tyrannical  power  both  in 
temporal  and  spiritual  matters,  laboured  to 
introduce  Popish  superstition,  nominated  to 
benefices  men  who  were  popishly  affected  and 
corrupt  in  morals,  committed  the  licensing  of 
books  to  his  chaplains  who  were  inclined  to 
Popery,  confederated  with  Jesuits  and  the 
Pope,  silenced  many  "  godly  ministers,"  en- 
deavoured to  cause  dissensions  between  the 
Church  of  England  and  "  other  reformed 
Churches,"  laboured  to  introduce  innovations 
in  religion  especially  in  Scotland,  stirred  up 
strife  between  the  two  kingdoms  and  between 
the  King  and  Parliament.  In  order  to  give 
additional  horror  to  these  accusations,  the 
word  "traitorously"  was  inserted  in  each  of 
them.  To  these  charges,  most  of  tliem 
preposterous  as  well  as  untrue,  some  of  them 
almost  ludicrous,  I^aud  gave  his  answer  wliich 
was  full,  precise  and  clear,  especially  to  those 
articles  which  accused  him  of  sub\'erting  the 


THE   TRIAL  217 

religion  of  the  country.  So  convincing  was 
it,  that  "  it  ought  to  have  covered  his  accusers 
with  confusion  "  ;  ^  but  it  did  not.  The  Lords 
committed  him  to  the  Tower.  On  March  1, 
1641,  he  started  off  at  noon  in  IMaxwell's 
coach,  accompanied  by  his  warden,  to  the  place 
of  his  long  and  last  imprisonment.  At  first 
he  passed  on  unmolested,  but  in  Cheapside  one 
or  two  apprentices  created  a  disturbance,  and 
by  the  time  that  the  coach  had  reached  the 
Exchange,  he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  a 
howling  mob,  M^hicli  followed  him,  as  he 
expresses  it,  "  beyond  barbarity  itself "  to  the 
very  gates  of  the  Tower.  Even  Maxwell  was 
moved  with  grief  and  indignation  at  this 
spectacle  of  ferocity.  ^  Had  the  journey  been 
much  longer  the  Archbishop  would  very  likely 
have  been  torn  to  pieces  by  this  "confused 
Raskal  Rabble,"  as  Heylin  describes  the  mob. 
When  Laud  was  securely  lodged  in  the 
Tower,  his  enemy  AVilliams  came  to  the  fore. 
Parliament  had  liberated  him  from  the  im- 
prisonment that  he  was  justly  enduring 
for  the  serious  political  offence  of  divulg- 
ing State  secrets.  At  once  he  became  the 
popular  prelate  in  the  eyes  of  the  Puritan 
party.       He    returned    to    residence    at   tlie 

1  Le  Bas,  Life  ofLntuI,  p.  287. 

2  Laud's    Worka  (Troubles),  iii.  48G,  437. 


218  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Deanery  of  Westminster ;   and  the  King,  at 
the  instance  of  those  in  power,  nominated  him 
to  the  Archbishopric  of  York.      True  to  his 
character    of    a    man    without    principle,    he 
trimmed  his  sails  to  catch  the  most  favourable 
wind,    and    assumed    his     favourite    rdle    of 
"  moderate  man,"   so  that  we  find  him  pre- 
siding over  a  committee   of  religion   for  the 
purpose     of   enquiring    into    all    innovations 
of  doctrine   and    discipline, — in  other    words, 
undoing     the     Laudian    Reformation.      This 
committee  was    nominated    by  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  consisted  of  ten  earls,  ten  barons 
and    ten   bishops,   Avhose   labours   were    soon 
overwhelmed   by    the    more    thorough -going 
and   more   consistent    measure    of  abolishing 
deans  and  chapters.      Thus  the  "  committee 
of  religion  "  suffered  ignominious  dissolution  1 
Later,  Williams  was  brought  into  unenviable 
notice  by  the  part  he  played  with  regard  to 
Strafford,  openly  defending  him  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  while  secretly  persuading  the  King 
that  he  had  a  private  conscience  and  also  a 
public  conscience,  and  that  in  matters  of  public 
import  he  could  disregard  the  former  and  obey 
the  latter.     This  innnoral  piece  of  casuistry,  as 
is  well   known,  turned  the  scale  and  caused 
Charles  to  sacrifice  tlic  Earl.     The  Conunons 
were  uidecd  wise  in  their  generation  in  keeping 


THE   TRIAL  219 

Laud,  the  King's  straightforward  counsellor, 
in  the  Tower  at  that  time.  On  JNIay  12, 1G41, 
Strafford  was  executed.  We  have  already 
described  how  nobly  he  went  to  his  death  with 
the  blessing  of  his  old  friend  and  comrade 
upon  him. 

The  next  step  of  Williams  was  one  of  base 
vindictiveness  towards  Laud.  Chiefly  at  his 
instigation,  an  order  of  sequestration  was 
agreed  to  in  the  House  of  Peers,  an  order 
which  consigned  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pri- 
mate of  all  England  to  obscure  officials,  and 
placed  his  patronage  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  were  compassing  the  ruin  of  the  Church.^ 
The  hist  move  of  this  unscrupulous  self-seeker 
was  one  fatal  to  himself.  He  made  a  false 
step  which  brought  about  his  fall.  Changing 
his  tactics,  he  prevailed  upon  eleven  of  the 
bishops  to  join  him  in  a  protest  against  the 
validity  of  all  that  the  House  of  Lords  had 
done  since  December  27,  1640 — the  day  on 
which  the  bishops  had  been  kept  out  of  the 
House  by  the  violence  of  the  mob.  It  was  a 
bold  move,  but  on  this  occasion  the  Puritan 
party  showed  themselves  to  be  more  clever 
than  even  this  astute  schemer,  and  the  entire 


1  Tliat  tins  action  was  flac:rantly  illegal  need  hardly  be  stated. 
The  Peers  could  neither  bestow,  uor  take  away  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction. 


220  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

band  of  bishops  were  promptly  committed  to 
the  Tower.  Thus  did  this  unhappy  man 
overreach  himself. 

We  must  now  return  to  Laud  and  his  im- 
prisonment in  the  Tower,  which  began  on 
INIarch  1,  1641,  as  already  noticed.  Soon  after 
this  date  the  work  of  vengeance  and  confisca- 
tion was  vigorously  pressed  forward.  Burton 
was  rewarded  with  a  solatium  of  £6,000,  and 
Prynne  and  Bastwick  each  received  £5,000. 
A  fine  of  £20,000  was  imposed  upon  Laud,  as 
a  punishment  for  his  work  in  the  late  Convo- 
cation, he  being  in  every  way  treated  as  one 
whose  guilt  had  been  conclusively  established. 

Of  the  history  of  Laud's  captivity,  not 
much  has  been  preserved  to  us.  For  what 
we  know  of  that  sad  time  in  his  life,  we  are 
indebted  chiefly  to  the  History  of  his  Troubles, 
which  he  then  began  to  write,  and  certain 
facts  are  handed  down  to  us  in  his  letters. 
Some  of  his  faithful  servants  were  permitted 
to  accompany  him  to  the  Tower.  He  himself 
"  was  in  a  prison-lodging,  void  of  all  comfort 
and  company."^  At  first  he  was  allowed  to 
walk  every  day  for  a  short  time  alone,  but 
afterwards  there  came  an  order  forbidding  him 
to  take  the  air  without  the  company  of  his 
warder.     iVt  times  news  from  the  outer  world 

'  Laud's  Workis  (Troubles)^  iv.  11. 


THE    IxMPRISONMENT  221 

would  filter  in  to  the  captive,  and  is  duly 
chronicled  by  him  in  his  Troubles.  He  refers 
at  considerable  length  to  the  trial  of  Strafford, 
he  notes  the  movements  of  the  King,  the 
proceedings  in  Parliament,  the  rising  tide  of 
hatred  against  the  Church,  the  campaign  of 
libels  against  himself,  and  other  events  of  the 
day.  He  refers  to  the  decree  "  that  all  rents 
and  profits  of  archbishops,  bishops,  deans  and 
chapters  and  other  delinquents  should  be 
sequestered  for  the  use  and  service  of  the 
Commonwealth."^  By  this  action  not  one 
penny  was  allowed  him  for  his  maintenance. 
Henceforth  the  Primate  of  all  England  in  his 
harsh  captivity  was  constrained  to  petition 
Parliament  "  that  somewhat  may  be  allowed 
him  out  of  his  estate  to  supply  the  necessities 
of  life ;  assuring  himself  that  in  honour  and 
justice  you  will  not  suffer  him  either  to  beg  or 
starve."^  He  had  to  depend  on  the  alms  that 
the  faithful  contrived  to  send  him.  JNleanwhile 
Lambeth  Palace  was  seized  by  the  Parliament- 
arians and  turned  into  a  prison,  the  chapel 
being  desecrated,  the  painted  glass  of  the 
windows  broken,  the  altar  overthrown,  and  the 
altar-steps  torn  up.  Some  old  halberts,  pikes 
and  muskets  were  found  on  the  premises, 
which    Laud    had    "taken    over"   from    his 

1  Laud's  Works  (Troubles),  iv.  10.  ~  Ibid.  iv.  23. 


222  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

predecessor,  doubtless  as  part  of  the  sundries 
amongst  the  furniture.  This  formed  the  basis 
of  a  report,  industriously  circulated  by  his 
enemies,  that  arms  for  ten  thousand  men  were 
found  at  Lambeth — an  indubitable  proof,  of 
course,  with  the  populace  of  a  vast  scheme  for 
"  bringing  in  "  Popery  !  ^ 

At  the  beginning  of  Laud's  incarceration 
it  has  been  thought  that  the  enemies  of  the 
Archbishop  desired  to  simplify  matters  by 
giving  him  an  02)portunity  of  escaping. 
Williams  had  already  made  his  escape,  and 
Secretary  AVindebank  had  fled  to  France.  It 
is  difficult  to  find  conclusi\  e  proof  that  such 
was  the  wish  of  those  in  authority  ;  in  fact 
their  yearning  later  at  any  cost  to  compass  his 
death  makes  this  appear  unlikely.  Yet  he 
himself  seems  to  have  believed  it,  for  he  says 
in  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Pococke  the  orientalist, 
"  An  escape  is  feasible  enough,  yea,  it  is  I  be- 
lieve the  very  thing  that  my  enemies  desire." 
But  the  stout-hearted  prelate  scorned  flight. 
To  fly  to  France  might  ha\'e  given  colour  to 
the  accusation  that  he  was  "  popishly  affected," 
while  to  fly  to  Holland  would  \vdve  put  him 
under  the  power  of  the  sectaries  there.  "  No," 
he  resolutely  exclaims,  "  I  am  resolved  not  to 
think  of  flight ;  but  patiently  to  expect  and 

'  Laud's  Wo7'kii  (Troubles),  iv.  9. 


THE    IMPRISONMENT  223 

bear  what  a  good  and  wise  Providence  has  pro- 
vided for  me,  of  what  kind  soever  it  shall  be."  ^ 
On  one  occasion  while  in  the  Tower  he 
relates  how  he  broke  the  tendon  of  his  right 
leg,  which  prevented  his  walking  for  two 
months.  His  first  attempt  to  get  about 
was  when,  by  the  help  of  his  servant,  he 
went  to  church ;  and,  as  an  example  of 
the  barbarity  of  his  persecution,  for  it  was 
nothing  less,  an  individual  called  Jocelin  in 
his  sermon  openly  made  a  violent  attack 
upon  him.  Laud  describes  the  incident 
in  these  words :  "To  pass  over  what  was 
strangely  evil  throughout  his  sermon,  his 
personal  abuse  of  me  was  so  foul  and  so  palp- 
able that  women  and  boys  stood  up  in  the 
church  to  see  how  I  could  bear  it :  and  this 
was  my  first  welcome  into  the  church,  after 
my  long  lameness.  But  I  humbly  thank  God 
for  it,  I  bare  his  virulence  patiently,  and  so  it 
vanished :  as  did  much  other  of  like  natin-e, 
which  1  bare  both  before  and  after  this.  God 
forgive  them."  So  he  describes  the  event.^ 
It  was  during  his  captivity  that  Laud,  in  a 
dignified  and  pathetic  letter  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  resigned  his  Chancellorship, 
pleading  for  the  election  of  an  "  honourable 

^  Twells'  Life  ofPococke,  p.  74,  qu.  Le  Bas,  p.  290. 
2  Laud's  Works,  iv.  9. 


224  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

person  "  in  his  place.  It  must  have  added  to 
the  Archbishop's  many  troubles  when  he 
learnt  that  the  "honourable  person"  thus 
elected  was  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  of  whom  it 
has  been  said,  "  his  understanding  was  mean, 
his  spirit  malicious,  base,  and  dastardly."^ 
A  contrast,  indeed,  to  the  munificent  patron, 
who  had  neither  spared  himself  nor  his  means 
to  benefit  his  Alma  3Iater. 

In  INIay  1643,  a  proposition  was  solemnly 
made  in  the  House  of  Commons  by  a 
notorious  fanatic,  Hugh  Peters,  of  transport- 
ing the  Archbishop  unheard  and  untried  to 
the  colony  of  Ts^ew  England,  at  that  time  a 
stronghold  of  ultra-Puritanism.  This  proposal 
was  not  carried  into  effect,  whether  because 
such  a  plan  was  too  brutal  even  for  the 
enemies  of  Laud,  or  because  they  wished  to 
have  the  gratification  of  punishing  him  them- 
selves, it  is  difficult  to  say.  About  this  time 
Laud  was  subjected  to  perhaps  the  most  out- 
rageous of  all  the  many  insults  endured  by 
him  during  his  captivity.  On  JNIarch  31,  his 
implacable  enemy,  William  Prynne,  appeared 
at  the  Tower  early  one  morning,  armed  with 
full  power  to  search  and  seize.  Accompanied 
by  three  musqueteers,  with  their  pieces  at  full 
cock,    he   forced   himself    into   the    I'rimate's 

'  Lc  Bas,  p.  295. 


THE   IMPRISONMENT  225 

bedroom  before  he  had  risen  from  his  bed. 
Prynne  at  once  set  himself  to  rifle  the  pockets 
of  the  Archbishop's  clothes  of  their  contents, 
leaving  however  some  money,  but  carrying  off 
the  papers  which  the  poor  man  had  prepared 
for  his  defence  ;  he  also  confiscated  his  Diary, 
a  copy  of  the  Scottish  Prayer  Book,  and  lastly 
his  IMS.  book  of  private  devotions.  I^aud 
says,  in  describing  the  event,  "Nor  could  I 
get  him  to  leave  this  last ;  but  he  must  needs 
see  what  passed  between  God  and  me  :  a  thing 
I  think  scarce  offered  to  any  Christian."^ 
After  even  peering  into  each  one  of  the  Arch- 
bishop's gloves,  in  his  eager  lust  for  papers 
containing  evidence,  the  miscreant  took  his 
departure.  The  object  of  this  search  and  of 
the  seizure  of  the  Archbishop's  papers  was  in 
order  to  manufacture  evidence  against  him. 
In  this  occupation  Prynne  and  his  satellites 
were  soon  busy  at  work.  The  so-called 
"  popish  plot "  discovered  by  Habernfeld  was 
now  dished  up  by  Prynne  as  Romes  Master- 
piece, in  which  he  ingeniously  proved  that 
Laud  was  really  a  fellow  worker  with  certain 
Romish  conspirators !  The  Archbishop's  diary 
was  a  perfect  godsend  to  the  faction  who  were 
compassing  his  ruin,  for  this  was  in  due  course 
"edited"    by    the    astute    but    unscrupulous 

'  Laud's  Woi-ks,  iv.  2(5. 
15 


226  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

Prynne.  The  "editing"  consisted  of  sup- 
pressing passages  that  were  in  Laud's  favour, 
and  interpolating  statements  calculated  to 
blacken  his  character  in  the  eyes  of  an  un- 
critical and  implacable  multitude.  After  five 
months  of  steady  work  this  person  and  his 
hirelings  had  manufactured  a  large  body  of 
"  evidence  "  ;  and  the  Commons,  on  their  part, 
produced  ten  additional  articles  against  the 
Archbishop. 

On  November  13,  1643,  the  trial  began. 
After  three  years  of  wearisome  and  painful 
imprisonment,  the  aged  Prelate,  now  seventy 
years  old,  was  brought  to  the  bar  of  the  House 
of  Commons.  He  of  course  pleaded.  Not 
Guilty.  Counsel  was  allowed  him,  and  also 
at  his  OA\ai  expense  copies  of  the  papers  that 
Prynne  had  secured.  On  this  particular 
occasion,  tlie  proceedings  were  to  a  great 
extent  formal.  He  was  not  brought  to  the 
House  of  Lords  till  January.  Before  this  great 
event,  however,  in  order  that  *'  he  might  not 
rust,"  as  he  himself  terms  it,  a  little  pre- 
liminary baiting  took  place  in  the  House  ot 
Commons.  He  was  called  upon,  together  with 
Cosin,  to  answer  to  the  trumpery  charges  of 
Peter  Smart,  a  divine  who  was  deposed  by  the 
Dean  and  Chapter  of  Durham  for  a  profane 


PRYNNE  227 

tirade  in  a  sermon  preached  against  the  Cathe- 
dral-worship, and  who  was  now  having  his 
revenge.  At  length,  on  January  22,  Laud 
appeared  before  the  Peers  to  answer  the  first 
general  articles  brought  against  him.  On  that 
day,  the  Thames  being  frozen,  he  drove  along 
the  streets  to  Westminster  and  back,  through 
frost  and  snow ;  while  the  people  like  a  pack 
of  hungry  wolves  howled  after  him,  and  in- 
sulted him.  It  was  not  till  March  12,  1G44, 
that  the  actual  trial  began.  It  was  indeed  a 
fearful  strain  for  a  man  advanced  in  years : 
what  he  suffered  in  body  and  soul  it  is  im- 
possible to  describe.  Often,  fi'om  early  in  the 
morning  he  stood  at  the  bar  of  the  House  till 
two  in  the  afternoon,  and  then  on  from  four 
till  half-past  seven.  Even  during  the  interval 
he  was  hard  at  work  at  his  papers  preparing 
his  answers.  In  bitter  winter  weather  he  was 
almost  frozen  to  death  going  there  and  back 
on  the  river,  and  in  the  blazing  days  of  that 
summer  he  used  to  return  by  boat  to  the 
Tower  "  full  of  weariness,  and  with  a  shirt 
as  wet  to  my  back  with  sweat,  as  the  water 
could  have  made  it,  had  I  fallen  in."^  How 
he  was  able  to  endure  it  all,  for  he  was  often 
ailing,  is  a  marvel.     Doubtless  the  hoj^e  that 

1  Laud's  WorkSf  iv.  50. 


228  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

his  vindication  from  the  unjust  charges  would 
convince  even  his  enemies,  to  a  large  extent 
sustained  him. 

Prynne  was  of  course  a  prominent  figiu-e  at 
the  trial.  That  untiring  sleuth-hound  never 
gave  up  the  pursuit  of  his  prey,  being  fully 
determined  to  track  his  victim  to  the  death. 
He  accordingly  managed  the  case  for  the 
Commons,  and  supplied  counsel  with  volu- 
minous notes  ;  he  even  "  kept  a  kind  of  school 
of  instruction  "  for  witnesses  I 

Laud  on  his  part, — though  every  circum- 
stance was  against  him,  from  his  old  age  and 
infirmity  to  the  cowardly  and  brutal  conduct 
of  his  opponents, — conducted  his  vindication 
with  consummate  abihty  and  courage.  He 
certainly  proved  that  he,  the  leader  of  a  great 
religious  movement,  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary 
power.  Even  Prynne,  his  implacable  enemy, 
breaks  out  into  genume  admiration  at  the  spirit 
of  the  Archbishop.  "  To  give  him  his  due," 
he  says,  "  he  made  as  full,  as  gallant,  as  pithy 
a  defence  of  so  bad  a  cause,  and  spake  so 
much  for  himself  as  was  possible  for  the  wit  of 
man  to  in\'ent.  ..."  But  what  is  perhaps 
even  more  noticeable  than  his  ability,  is  his 
high  Christian  virtue  of  gentleness,  and  the 
way  he  forgave  his  enemies,  a  sure  sign  that 
he  was  trained  in  the  school  of  Him    "  \A'ho 


PRYNNE  229 

when  He  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again  ;  when 
He  suffered,  He  threatened  not."  Laud  by- 
nature  was  hot-tempered  and  hasty,  but  by 
grace  he  had  become  gentle  and  patient. 
Once,  and  only  once,  did  he  break  out  into 
vehement  indignation.  One  of  his  accusers,  a 
foul-mouthed  ruffian  called  Nicholas,  amongst 
other  filthy  abuse,  called  him  "  a  pander  to  the 
whore  of  Babylon."  Laud  was  much  moved 
at  these  words,  and  he  says,  "  I  humbly  desired 
the  Lords,  that  if  my  crimes  were  such  that  I 
might  not  be  used  like  an  archbishop,  yet  I 
might  be  used  like  a  Christian."  ^ 

At  last,  in  the  month  of  August,  1644,  the 
trial  came  to  an  end,  with  the  result  that,  not- 
withstanding all  the  efforts  made,  it  was  not 
possible  to  prove  against  him  the  charge  of 
High  Treason.  On  September  2,  he  was 
allowed  to  deliver  a  recapitulation  of  his  im- 
peachment and  defence  before  the  Lords.  On 
that  morning  the  instant  he  came  to  the  bar 
of  the  House,  he  noticed  that  every  peer  was 
provided  with  a  thin  folio  "in  a  blue  coat." 
This  was  none  other  than  his  own  diary,  which 
was  now  published  after  the  indefatigable 
Prynne  had  subjected  it  to  his  *'  editing " 
process.  Again  the  Archbishop  made  an  able 
defence,   which  produced  confusion,  but  not 

1  Laud's  Worlcs,  iv.  309. 


230  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

justice  amongst  his  hearers.  The  result  was 
that  a  new  course  was  adopted.  Since  Laud 
could  not  be  proved  guilty  of  High  Treason, 
Parliament  must  somehow  or  other  assert  that 
he  was  guilty,  and  then  condemn  him  accord- 
ingly. On  the  first  day  of  November,  he  was 
therefore  summoned  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  informed  that  a  bill  of  Attainder  was 
brought  in  against  him.  He  was  refused  the 
help  of  counsel,  and  on  November  11,  he  had 
to  answer  to  the  charge  of  trying  to  "  alter 
the  true  Protestant  religion  into  Popery,"  and 
endeavouring  "  to  subvert  the  laws  of  the 
Kingdom."  The  answer  that  he  made  was 
very  similar  to  that  made  in  the  House  of 
Lords.  His  reference  to  his  old  age  and  to 
his  broken  health  was  so  touching,  that  it 
might  have  melted  hearts  of  stone.  At  the 
end  of  that  terrible  day,  the  courageous  old 
man  physically  broke  down  for  a  time.  "  I  was 
exceeding  faint  with  speaking  so  long,"  he  says, 
"  and  I  had  a  great  pain  and  soreness  in  my 
breast  [heart]  for  almost  a  fortnight  after."  ^ 
Two  days  later  he  was  again  summoned  to  the 
House  to  hear  counsel  repeat  the  charge.  He 
was  not  allowed  to  reply,  and,  to  the  ever- 
lasting disgrace  of  the  Connnons,  he  was 
attainted  of  High  Treason  and  condemned  to 

'  Laud's  ^For/i-ff  (Troubles),  iv.  413. 


BILL  OF  AITAINDER  231 

suffer  death.  On  November  16,  the  bill  was 
taken  up  to  the  House  of  Lords,  and  in  a 
blustering  way  the  Peers  were  given  to  under- 
stand that  they  Avere  to  agree  to  the  ordinance, 
or  else  the  multitude  would  force  them  to  do 
so.  I^ike  Pontius  Pilate  they  began  by  re- 
coiling at  the  infamy  of  passing  the  bill,  like 
him  they  sought  in  vain  for  a  compromise, 
and  like  him  they  finally  gave  way :  "  and 
Pilate  gave  sentence  that  it  should  be  as  they 
required." 

Only  six  peers  voted ;  the  rest  absented 
themselves,  either  through  fear  or  shame  ;  and 
thus  it  came  to  pass  that  William,  Lord 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Primate  of  all 
England,  was  condemned  to  death  by  being 
hung  like  a  felon.  So  ended  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  trials  in  English  History,  remark- 
able because  of  its  brutality,  its  illegality  and 
its  injustice.  INIr.  Le  Bas  says  with  truth, 
"  The  victory  obtained  by  the  Liberators  of 
England  over  all  that  is  usually  held  sacred 
among  Englishmen  was  now  complete."^  On 
this  occasion  the  new  Chancellor  of  Oxford 
disgraced  himself  by  insulting  his  predecessor 
by  the  coarsest  scvu-rility,  calling  him  to  his 
face  a  rascal  and  a  villain.  The  matter  of  the 
Archbishop's   sentence   was   debated  on   foiu- 

1  Le  Bas,  p.  317. 


232  LIFE   OF  WILLIAIM   LAUD 

occasions  in  the  Lords.  As  late  as  December 
24,  they  confessed  that  they  were  unable  to 
detect  High  Treason  in  the  prisoner.  On 
January  2,  they  wavered,  and  on  January  4, 
the  ordinance  of  Attainder  was  carried— a 
veritable  triumph  of  satanic  malice  against  an 
innocent  man. 

The  trial  itself  was  a  sorry  exhibition  of 
flagrant  injustice  and  petty  spite  against  a 
defenceless  old  man,  who  under  natural  cir- 
cumstances was  not  far  from  the  grave.  In 
the  case  of  another  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
Thomas  Cranmer,  the  treatment  meted  out  to 
him  in  his  trial  and  at  his  death  cannot  be 
defended  by  the  most  ardent  Papalist,  but 
Romanensian  cruelty  was  like  that  of  a  fierce 
tiger,  while  the  cruelty  of  the  Puritans  to 
William  Laud  resembled  that  of  a  pack  of 
contemptible  curs. 

On  January  4,  Laud  received  the  news  of 
his  sentence.  He  received  it  in  the  true  spirit 
of  a  Clu'istian  bishop.  The  King  had  sent  liim 
a  formal  pardon,  the  only  thing  Charles  could 
do  in  the  hope  of  saving  his  life  ;  but  this  was 
of  no  avail  at  the  hands  of  those  who  had 
firmly  resolved  to  shed  liis  blood.  Laud  was 
neither  ashamed  to  live,  nor  afraid  to  die,  yet 
he  petitioned  that  his  penalty  might  be  altered 
to  being  beheaded — a  more  honourable  mode 


LAUD  SENTENCED  TO  DEATH       233 

of  death,  and  that  his  chaplains  Dr.  Sterne, 
Dr.  Heywood  or  Dr.  Martin  might  be  allowed 
to  attend  him.  The  Commons  brutally  re- 
fused both  requests,  but  the  Lords  acceded. 
Eventually  the  Commons  agreed  to  his  being 
beheaded,  but  they  would  not  permit  Dr. 
Sterne  to  attend,  unless  accompanied  by 
Dr.  Marshall  or  Mr.  Palmer,  both  violent 
Puritans. 


CHArXER   XII 

LAUD  :  HIS  MARTYRDOM 

laud's  execution — HIS   SPEECH   AND   PRAYERS 

THE     END — laud's    WILL PERSECUTION, 

AND       DESECRATION      OF      CHURCHES  —  RE- 
ACTION  THE     PRAYER     BOOK      OF      1G61 

"LAUD    SAYED   THE  ENGLISH    CHURCH " 

When  Laud  learnt  the  verdict  that  had  been 
passed  upon  him,  he  at  once  broke  off  writing 
the  story  of  his  "  Troubles,"  and  gave  himself 
up  wholly  to  prepare  for  death.  In  this  work 
there  is  not  space  to  quote  the  touching  and 
beautiful  prayers  that  he  wrote  and  used 
during  the  last  few  days  of  his  life :  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  they  amply  reveal  his  faith 
and  his  resignation.  They  also  shoAv  his 
Christian  magnanimity  in  forgiving  his  enemies. 
Laud  spent  the  time  remaming  to  him  hi  close 
communion  with  God.  So  calm  and  peaceful 
was  his  last  sleep  on  earth,  that  his  attendants 
liad  to  wake  him  wlien  the  fatal  morning 
arrived ;  and  when  Pennington,  the  alderman 
of  the  Tower,  came  to  summon  him  to   his 

234 


LAUD'S  EXECUTION  235 

execution,  he  was  found  upon  his  knees.  Then 
he  arose,  and  passed  out  of  his  prison  on  that 
January  morning,  walking  to  the  scaffold  on 
Tower  Hill  with  firm  step,  and  calm  counten- 
ance. It  was  indeed  "  like  a  scene  out  of  Primi- 
tive times."  ^  The  soldiers  of  the  Parliament, 
horse  and  foot,  were  drawn  up  to  keep  order,  and 
to  prevent  a  possible  rescue.  Crowds  lined  the 
way  and  surrounded  the  scaffold,  a  "  confused 
Raskal  rabble"  thirsting  for  his  blood.  But 
may  we  not  believe  that  there  were  some  who 
came  to  revile,  but  returned  in  tears  ?  There 
would  be  also  amongst  the  crowd  the  faithful, 
who— just  as  we  read  in  the  Acts  of  the 
martyrs  of  old — had  come  to  see  their  chief 
pastor  "  witness  a  good  confession."  The 
poet's  words  are  doubtless  not  overdrawn  when 
he  says — 

But  as  he  went  there  were  hands  stretched  out ; 
If  they  might  but  touch  his  side  ; 
And  strong  men  turned  their  heads  about. 
And  like  Uttle  children  cried. 

When  the  Archbishop  reached  the  scaffold, 
the  poet  continues — 

And  there  the  great  axe,  in  the  winter  sun 
Was  glittering  like  to  gold  ; 

And  the  block  was  there,  and  the  men  in  masks. 
Right  fearful  to  behold. ^ 

'  The  Autobiography  of  William  Laud,  Oxford,  1839,  p.  432. 
2  Neale,  ^4  Mirror  of  Faith,  p.  119. 


236  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

Then  standing  up  before  the  vast  multitude 
the  Primate  of  all  England  played  the  man, 
and  spake  words  which  must  have  carried 
conviction  to  many  a  heart — 

"  Good  people,  this  is  an  uncomfortable  time 
to  preach ;  yet  I  shall  begin  with  a  text  of 
Scripture,  Hebrews  xii.  2.  '  Let  us  run  with 
patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us  ;  looking 
unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our 
faith,  Who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before 
Him  endured  the  Cross,  despising  the  shame, 
and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
throne  of  God.' 

"  I  have  been  long  in  my  race ;  and  how  I 
have  looked  unto  Jesus,  the  Autlior  and 
Finisher  of  my  faith,  He  best  knows.  I  am 
now  come  to  the  end  of  my  race,  and  here  I 
find  the  cross,  a  death  of  shame.  But  the 
shame  must  be  despised,  or  no  coming  to  the 
right  hand  of  God.  Jesus  despised  the  shame 
for  me,  and  God  forbid  that  I  should  not 
despise  the  shame  for  Him." 

Then  he  spoke  of  "  this  people,"  liow  they 
were  "  miscra})ly  misled  "  out  of  the  way  of 
truth,  and  he  asked  God  to  open  their  eyes. 
After  acknowledging  himself  to  be  a  grievous 
sinner,  he  declared  that  yet  he  had  not  com- 
mitted any  sin  "  which  deserves  death  by  any 
known  law  of  this  kingdom,"  and  continued, 


HIS   SPEECH   AND   PRAYERS  237 

"  though  I  am  not  only  the  first  archbishop, 
but  the  first  man,  that  ever  died  by  an  ordin- 
ance of  Parhament,  yet  some  of  my  prede- 
cessors have  gone  this  way,  though  not  by  this 
means  :  for  Elphegus  was  hurried  away  and 
lost  his  head  by  the  Danes  ;  Simon  Sudbury 
in  the  fury  of  Wat  Tyler  and  his  fellows. 
Before  these,  St.  John  Baptist  had  his  head 
danced  ofJ'  by  a  lewd  woman ;  and  St.  Cyprian, 
archbishop  of  Carthage,  submitted  his  head  to 
a  persecuting  sword.  Many  examples  great 
and  good  and  they  teach  me  patience." 

After  this,  he  defended  himself  against  the 
accusation  of  "  bringing  in  Popery,"  and  like- 
wise defended  the  King  from  the  same  accusa- 
tion. He  also  upheld  the  Anglican  part  of  the 
Church  in  which  God  had  placed  him.  "  I 
do  therefore,  here  in  the  presence  of  God  and 
His  holy  Angels,  take  it  upon  my  death  that  I 
never  endeavoured  the  subversion  either  of  law 
or  religion.  ...  I  have  done.  I  forgive  all 
the  world,  all  and  every  of  those  bitter  enemies 
which  have  persecuted  me  ;  and  humbly  desire 
to  be  forgiven  of  God  first,  and  then  of  every 
man." 

He  then  knelt  down  and  prayed  fervently  : 
he  prayed  for  himself,  for  the  assembled  multi- 
tude, for  the  distracted  nation,  for  the  King, 
for  the  persecuted  Church.     Rising  from  his 


238  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

knees,  he  gave  his  papers  to  Sterne  his  chap- 
lain, and  approached  the  block.  Seeing  chinks 
in  the  flooring  of  the  scaffold,  he  asked  for  sand 
to  fill  them  up,  lest  his  blood  should  fall  on  the 
heads  of  the  people.  Even  at  this  moment  his 
enemies  would  not  let  him  die  in  peace,  for  Sir 
John  Clotworthy,  a  brutal  Irishman,  pestered 
him  with  questions,  "  What  is  the  comfortablest 
saying  which  a  dying  man  would  have  in  his 
mouth  ? "  To  which  the  martyr  answered, 
Cupio  dissolvi,  et  esse  cum  Christo.  "  That  is  a 
good  desire,  but  there  must  be  a  foundation 
for  that  divine  assurance,"  urged  Clotworthy. 
"  No  man  can  express  it,  it  must  be  found 
within,"  was  the  gentle  answer.  "  It  is  founded 
upon  a  word,  nevertheless,  and  that  word  should 
be  known,"  continued  the  persecutor.  "  That 
word  is  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  and  that 
alone,"  he  replied :  and,  wishing  to  put  an  end 
to  further  questioning,  he  turned  to  the  execu- 
tioner, and  giving  him  some  money,  said, 
"  Here,  honest  friend,  God  forgive  thee ;  and 
do  thine  office  upon  me  in  mercy."  ^ 

Again  he  knelt  down  and  prayed,  using  these 
words — 

"  Lord  I  am  coming  as  fast  as  I  can.     I 


'  The  Autnhiogrfiphi/  of  William  Land,  pp.  432,  433.  A  similar 
account  witli  verbal  difforeiict'S  is  frivoii  by  liaiues,  Life  oj 
Abp.  Laud,  pp.  2b\^,  251) ;  also  in  Laud's  Wurh,  iv.  438. 


THE   END  239 

know  I  must  pass  through  the  shadow  of  death 
before  I  can  come  to  see  Thee.  But  it  is  but 
umbra  mortis,  a  mere  shadow  of  death,  a  httle 
darkness  upon  nature :  but  Tliou  by  Thy 
merits  and  Passion  hast  broke  through  the 
jaws  of  death.  So,  Lord  receive  my  soul,  and 
have  mercy  upon  me  ;  and  bless  this  kingdom 
with  peace  and  plenty,  and  with  brotherly  love 
and  charity,  that  there  may  not  be  this  effusion 
of  Christian  blood  amongst  them,  for  Jesus 
Christ  His  sake,  if  it  be  Thy  will."  ^ 

Then  he  bowed  his  head  upon  the  block, 
"  down,  as  upon  a  bed,"  and  prayed  silently 
awhile,  after  which  he  gave  the  signal,  "  Lord 
receive  my  soul " •  and  then,  all  was  over. 

Then  he  knelt  by  the  block  and  he  gave  the  sign 
That  should  carry  him  home  to  his  rest; 
And  that  same  moment  the  great  axe  fell 
And  his  spirit  was  with  the  blest.^ 

And  thus  on  January  10,  1645,  William 
Laud  was  added  to  the  noble  army  of  martyrs. 
The  faithful  Peter  Heylin  thus  comments  upon 
the  fact :  "  His  death  was  the  more  remarkable 
in  falling  on  St.  William's  day,  as  if  it  did 
design  him  to  an  equal  place  in  the  English 
Calendar  with  that  which  William,  Archbishop 
of  Bourgeois,  (Bourges)  had  obtained  in  the 

^  Autobiography,  p.  434. 
2  Mirror  of  Faith,  p.  121. 


240  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM  LAUD 

French^  who  being  as  great  a  Zealot  in  his 
time  against  the  spreading  and  increase  of  the 
Albigenses,  (as  Laud  was  thought  to  be  against 
those  of  the  Puritan  Faction,  and  the  Scottish 
Covenanters)  hath  ever  since  been  honoured  as 
a  Saint  in  the  Gqlliccm  Church  ;  the  tenth  of 
January  being  destined  for  the  solemnities  of 
his  Commemoration,  on  which  day  our  Laud 
ascended  from  the  Scaffold  to  a  Throne  of 
Glory."  ^ 

Heylin  concludes  ^vith  a  c[u?i\ni  ova  p7'o  nobis 
in  an  elegy  which  follows  the  account  of  the 
martyrdom — 

And  thus,  though  murthered,  thou  shalt  never  die 

But  live  Renovrn'd  to  all  Posterity. 

Rest  thou  then  happy  in  the  Sweets  of  Bliss, 

Th'  Elyzian,  the  Christian's  Paradise, 

Exempt  from  Worldly  Cai-es,  secure  from  Fears, 

And  let  us  have  thy  Prayers,  as  thou  our  Tears. 

When  the  martyrdom  was  over,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Protomartyr,  "  devout  men  carried 
Laud  to  his  burial."  They  buried  him  in  a 
vault  in  the  church  of  All  Hallows,  Barking, 
where  he  rested  "  till  the  tyranny  was  overpast," 
and  the  Church  again  raised  her  head.  Then 
his  body  was  translated  with  much  quiet 
solemnity  to  Oxford,  and  there,  under  the 
altar   of  the  Chapel   of  his    beloved    college, 

'   Ileyhu,  p.  508. 


LAUD'S   WILL  241 

together  with  the  mortal  remams  of  his  dear 
friend  Wilham  Juxon,  and  of  the  pious 
founder  of  the  college,  all  that  is  mortal  of 
William  Laud,  Archbishop  and  Martyr,  awaits 
the  general  resurrection  at  the  last  great  day. 

About  a  year  before  his  death  Laud  made 
his  will,  in  which  he  stated  that  he  died  as  he 
had  lived,  "  in  the  true  and  Orthodox  profes- 
sion of  the  Catholic  Faith  of  Christ  ...  a  true 
member  of  His  CathoHc  Church,  within  the 
Communion  of  a  living  part  thereof,  the  present 
Church  of  England,  as  it  now  stands  by  law 
established."  Of  the  remains  of  his  property — 
it  is  said  that  he  died  poorer  than  any  other 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  before  or  after  him, 
— he  left  bequests  in  money  to  St.  Paul's,  to 
his  old  college,  to  the  King  and  others.  There 
were  also  bequests  to  his  servants,  whom  he 
specially  mentioned  by  name.  To  his  chap- 
lains he  left  some  memorial,  such  as  a  rino:  or 
a  watch.  To  his  birthplace,  Reading,  he  be- 
queathed some  land  for  the  purpose  of 
benefiting  the  clergy,  scholars,  and  appren- 
tices, and  towards  providing  marriage-portions 
for  deserving  maidens.  Benefections  were  left 
by  him  for  the  poor  in  all  the  parishes  with 
which  he  had  been  connected. 

If  we  survey  the  state   of  the  Church   in 
16 


242  LIFE   OF  WILLIAIM   LAUD 

England  on  that  10th  of  January  1645,  when 
the  great  Prelate  and  Reformer  yielded  up  his 
hfe,  it  is  impossible,  to  all  human  appearance, 
to  conceive  a  greater  disaster.     The  Laudian 
era  with  its  revival  of  Catholic  doctrine  and 
practice,    with    its   learning  and    its    culture, 
appeared  like  a  chapter  in  past  history.     INIaster 
Barnabas    Oley,    an   enthusiastic    follower    of 
Laud,    in   his    preface   to    Herbert's    Country 
Parson,  looking  back  forty  years   afterwards 
upon     that     period,     rapturously      exclaims : 
"  What  a  halcyonian  calm,  a  blessed  time  of 
peace,  this  Church  of  England  had  for  many 
years,   above   all  the   Churches   in  the  world 
beside,  when  the  King  St.  Charles  of  blessed 
memory,  and  the  good  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury with  others,  were  endea\  ouring  to  perfect 
the  clergy  in  regularity  of  life,  uniformity  of 
officiating,  and  all  variety  of  learning." 

With  the  death  of  Laud,  this  true  construc- 
tive lleformation  seemed  as  if  it  had  been 
effectually  crushed  under  the  iron  heel  of 
Puritanism.  The  dark  days  which  began 
about  1040  were  very  different  from  the 
*'  halcyonian  calm."  At  this  time  nearly  all 
the  bishops  of  tlie  Churcli  were  under  watch 
and  ward  in  the  Tower.  Neile  and  Montague, 
prominent  men  in  the  movement,  were  dead. 
The  Committee  for  the  rcmoNal  of  "  scandal- 


PERSECTTTION    AND   DESF.CRATION      24li 

ous  ministers"  was  now  busy  at  work,  with  the 
result  that  hundreds — eventually  over  two 
thousand — of  faithful  English  clergymen  of 
blameless  lives  were  turned  out  of  their  dwell- 
ings and  their  benefices.  JNIany  were  thrown 
into  prison, while  others  were  shipped  off' to  New 
England  to  work  as  slaves  in  the  plantations. 
The  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  proscribed 
by  law.  By  an  order  of  the  Commons  in  1G41, 
and  by  an  act  passed  by  both  Houses  in  1643, 
the  holy  tables  were  removed  from  the  east 
end  of  the  churches,  and  all  crosses,  crucifixes, 
candlesticks,  alms  basins,  images,  and  pictures 
were  ordered  to  be  taken  away.  The  parish 
churches  all  over  the  land  were  desecrated  by 
functionaries  like  William  Dowsing,  "  Parlia- 
mentary Visitor,"  who  in  his  Journal  has  left 
us  a  truthful  account  of  his  iconoclastic  exploits 
in  which  he  naively  glories.  So  revolting  in 
their  coarseness  were  the  proceedings  of  the 
"  baser  sort "  amongst  the  Puritans  in  the 
churches,  that  Walker  in  his  Sufferings  of  the 
Clergy  ^  for  decency's  sake  is  obliged  to  veil  the 
narrative  in  Latin  ! 

Between  1640  and  1645,  the  Cathedrals,  one 
after  another,  were  subjected  to  sacrilege ; 
chiefly  at  the  hands  of  the  Puritan  troops, 
who  found  them  convenient  as  barracks.     The 

1  i.  26. 


244  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

treatment  of  Lichfield  Cathedral  affords  an 
example  ;  the  Puritan  soldiers  "  demoUshed  all 
the  monuments,  pulled  down  the  curious  carved 
work,  battered  in  pieces  the  costly  windows, 
and  destroyed  the  evidences  and  records  ;  they 
stabled  their  horses  in  the  body  of  the  church, 
kept  courts  of  guard  in  the  cross  aisle,  broke  up 
the  pavement,  and  polluted  the  quire  with 
their  excrement ;  every  day  hunting  a  cat  with 
hounds  through  the  church,  and  delighting 
themselves  with  the  echo  from  the  goodly 
vaulted  roofs."  ^  Copes  and  surplices,  Prayer 
Books  and  even  Bibles  were  torn  into  pieces, 
candlesticks  and  crosses  were  broken  up  and 
altars  overthrown. 

Now  they  break  down  all  the  carved  work  thereof : 
with  axes  and  hammers. 

They  have  set  fire  upon  Thy  holy  places  :  and  have 
defiled  the  dwelling-place  of  Thy  Name,  even  unto  the 
ground. 

Yea,  they  said  in  their  hearts.  Let  us  make  havock 
of  them  altogether  :  thus  have  they  burnt  up  all  the 
houses  of  God  in  the  land.^ 

As  time  went  on  the  persecution  of  the 
Church  became  more  rigorous,  and  her  services 
had  to  be  carried  on  secretly  in  private  houses. 
Almost   the  only  Anglican  place  of  worship 

'   ^V;ll(•()t,  Traditions  and  Customs  of  Cathedrals,  Loud.  1872, 
PI),  fit),  70. 
^  I's.  Ixxiv.  7,  0,  0,  r.B.v. 


REACTION  245 

then  in  existence  was  Sir  Thomas  Browne's 
cliapel  at  the  embassy  in  Paris,  which  was 
attended  by  nimibers  of  refugees,  both  clergy 
and  laity.  In  those  days  it  looked  indeed  as  if 
the  Anglican  Church  was  doomed  to  die  out. 
Some  of  her  members — a  very  few — lost  hope 
altogether  and  sought  refuge  in  the  Roman 
Communion.  By  the  time  of  the  Restoration 
only  six  of  the  bishops  remained.  The  bishops 
and  priests  who  then  emerged  from  obscurity, 
and  came  to  the  fore  as  restorers  of  the  old 
system,  had  served  under  Laud.  They  knew 
what  Calvinistic  Protestantism  really  meant. 
They  knew  also  that  compromise  in  matters  of 
principle  was  fatal.  They  deliberately  rejected 
the  indefinite  policy  of  a  so-called  "  statesman- 
like "  archbishop  like  Williams,  and  chose  the 
definite  policy  of  a  "  thorough  "  archbishop  like 
Laud. 

The  very  moment  that  the  leader  was 
struck  down,  the  signs  of  a  reaction  began  to 
show  themselves — a  reaction  which  gradually 
gathered  in  intensity.  Thus  the  funeral  of 
Laud  took  place  according  to  the  rites  of  the 
Church,  although  the  use  of  the  Prayer  Book 
was  illegal.  Soon  after  this,  several  tracts  in 
his  favour  appeared.  In  the  following  year  a 
Captain  George  Wharton  was  reported  to 
Parliament  as  having  brought  out  an  almanack 


246  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   LAUD 

in  which  Laud  was  commemorated  as  a  martyr. 
But  Laud's  old  adversaries  were  implacable,  for 
we  find  Henry  Burton  producing  a  tract  entitled 
The  Grand  Impostor  unmasked,  in  which  in  a 
frenzy  of  unseemly  and  venomous  abuse,  equal 
to  his  former  style,  he  attacked  the  deceased  pre- 
late.^ The  reaction,  nevertheless,  slowly  but 
surely  worked  its  way  throughout  the  days  of 
the  Commonwealth.  By  bitter  persecution  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  Church  were  purified 
and  refined  ;  and  when  the  reign  of  terror  came 
to  an  end,  the  mighty  tide  set  in  carrying 
everything  before  it.  In  lOGl  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  was  revised,  and  the  next 
year  came  into  use.  In  every  respect,  with  a 
few  trivial  exceptions,  the  new  book  was  a 
return  to  the  old  paths,  the  changes  testified 
definitely  to  the  Catholic  spirit  of  the  revision, 
and  what  Laud  had  lived  and  died  for  was 
more  clearly  expressed.  The  revision  of  1661 
all  along  the  line  was  a  vindication  of  the 
Laudian  Reformation. 

In  one  point  it  must  be  confessed  the  dis- 
ciples were  better  than  their  master.  In  the 
time  of  adversity  they  had  learnt  the  lesson  of 
discretion,  a  virtue  which  Laud  often  lacked. 
In  the  Prayer  Book  of  1661,  alterations  again 
and  again  are  to  be  noticed,  veiled  under  such 

1  Hutton,  p.  225,  226. 


THE   PRAYER-BOOK   OF   1601  247 

cautious  phraseology  that  they  escape  casual 
observation.  An  acute,  although  unfriendly 
critic,  has  even  enlarged  upon  what  he  calls  the 
*'  insidiousness  "  of  the  revisers  of  the  Prayer 
Book  of  16G1,  in  bringing  in  important  changes 
which  verbally  appear  trifling.^  In  any  case  it 
must  be  admitted  that  they  were  cautious — and 
for  this  we  must  be  thankful,  for  had  they  acted 
otherwise,  the  Protestant  and  Hanoverian  in- 
fluences would  have  swept  away  their  labours. 
Happily,  under  a  somewhat  meagre  phrase- 
ology. Catholic  truth  has  been  preserved  to  us. 

Mozley  may  be  said  to  sum  up  his  brilliant 
essay  upon  Archbishop  Laud  in  the  words 
"Laud  saved  the  English  Church." ^  Fully 
allowing  for  the  imperfections  of  Laud's  work  | 
of  reformation,  his  insularity,  his  dependence 
upon  the  Crown  to  carry  out  his  aims,  his 
advancement  of  ecclesiastics  to  secular  posts, 
his  centralization  of  authority,  and  the  fact  that 
his  plans  were  cut  short  by  the  Puritan  Re 
bellion — fully  admitting  these  facts,  in  the/ 
opinion  of  the  present  writer,  Mozley 's  dictuml 
is  true. 

In  some  quarters  there  is  a  tendency  to  exalt 
Andrewes  at  the  expense  of  Laud.     We  are 

^  Fisher,  Liturgical  Purity  our  right  fid  inheritance,  Lond.  1857, 
pp.  395,  39G. 

"^  Essays  Historical  and  Theological,  Loud.  1878,  i.  227. 


/ 


248  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   LAUD 

led  to  infer  that  the  gentle  Andrewes  would 
have  advanced  Church  principles  where  the 
imperious  Laud  failed.  But  without  in  any- 
way depreciating  that  great  and  illustrious 
divine,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  teach- 
ing of  Andrewes  needed  a  Laud  to  carry  it  out, 
|and  so  to  give  it  permanence.  Before  Laud 
jcame  upon  the  scene,  the  forces  of  Puritanism 
were  overwhelming  the  English  Church.  The 
new  movement,  it  is  true,  had  been  commenced 
by  Hooker,  Andrewes,  and  Overall,  but  it  re- 
quired a  great  ecclesiastic  of  a  more  militant 
type  to  decide  the  question  in  a  conflict, 
whether  the  Church  was  to  turn  to  Geneva 
and  break  with  the  past,  or  to  continue  a  por- 
tion of  the  historic  Catholic  Church.  Laud 
led  the  Church  in  this  conflict,  and  though  he 
fell  on  the  field  of  battle,  his  cause  in  the  end 
triumphed.  As  far  as  one  can  see,  if  Laud  had 
not  been  raised  up,  the  Church  would  have 
succumbed  to  Puritanism,  either  by  surrender 
or  by  compromise ;  and  the  theological  works 
of  Hooker  and  Andrewes  would  have  reposed 
on  bookshelves  with  a  merely  academic  interest 
surrounding  them,  since  the  English  Church 
would  have  been  a  thing  of  the  past. 
Humanly  speaking,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
had  it  not  been  for  Laud  we  should  now  have 
to  choose  between  Protestantism  pur  ct  simplcy 


LAUD  SAVED  THE  ENGLISH  CHURCH     249 

with  its  increasing  tendency  to  Unitarianism, 
and  Roman  Catholicism  with  its  Papal  Claims 
and  many  additions  to  the  ancient  faith. 
Without  Laud  the  Oxford  Movement  would 
have  been  an  impossibility.  Laud  preserved 
the  via  media — the  Anglo-Catholic  Church,  with 
her  unbroken  line  of  bishops,  her  valid  sacra- 
ments, her  witness  in  doctrine  and  discipline  to 
the  faith  and  practice  of  the  undivided  Church 
of  the  first  ten  centuries.  As  Catholics  of  the 
Anglican  Communion,  fully  admitting  the  im- 
perfections of  the  great  Archbishop,  we  must 
confess  in  Mozley's  words  that  "  Laud  saved 
the  Enghsh  Cliurch." 


INDEX 


Aberguilly,  49 

Abbot,  36,  47,  51  ff.,  61,  62,  66, 

74,  75,  86 
Absolution.  4,  113,  201 
All  Hallows,  Barking,  240 
Altar,  43,   55,  86  ff.,   103,    121, 
197 
,,     lights,  55,  121 
,,     rails,  90 

,,     reverence     towards,     43, 
122,  209,  210 
Andrewes,23,  39,  110,  120,  140, 

154,  247,  248 
Annates,  4 

Antholin's,  St.,  68,  81 
Anthony  k   Wood,   34  fiF.,   151, 

174 
Ajiello  Cocsarem,  59,  115 
Architecture,  123,  172 
Arminians,  65,  149 
Articles,  XXXIX.,  21,64,  154, 
195,  200,  201 
„       XLII.,21 
,,       Irish,  195  ff. 
,,       Lambeth,  100,  195 
Atchle}%  14,  20 
AutoMography  of  Lcmd,  170,  238 

Baines,  35,83,  196,  238 
Bale,  194 
Bancroft,  23,  108 
Barberini,  152,  156,  157 
Bargrave,  62 


Bastwick,  95,  97,  220 

Baylie,  42,  172 

Bedell,  195,  200 

Berington,  152  S. 

Blunt,  13,  16,  17 

Book  of  Common  Prayer,  13,  14, 

29,   92,    137,    186,    187,    194, 

243,  245,  246 
Book  of  Sports,  81  ff. 
Boorde,  31 
Bradburn,  82 

Bramhall,  120,  154,  196,  200 
Breakfast,  117 
Brent,  85 
Bret,  90 
Bright,  125 
Browne,  Abp.,  193 
Browne,  Sir  T.,  245 
Bucer,  12,  17 
Buckeridge,  29,  34,  40 
Buckingham,  Duke  of,  53,   54, 

133 
BuUinger,  16 
Burton,    95   ff.,    114,    115,   220, 

246 

Calvinism,    11   ff.,  22,  23,  56, 

105  ff.,  245 
Canons  of  1571,  23 

1603,  81 

1640,  209  if. 

Irish,  201 
Celibacy,  6,  7,  117,  118 


9> 


251 


252 


INDEX 


Ceremonial,  7,  22,  121  flf. 

,,     ,,      reformation,  121  ff. 
Channel  Islands,  93,  97 
Chappell,  197 

Charles  I.,  57,  74,  75, 115,  172 ff., 
182  ff.,  242 
„      IL,  29 
Charles,  Prince,  54  ff. 
Cheyney,  21 
Chichester,  Sir  A.,  194 
Chillingworth,  165 
Church,  unity  of,  3,  142 
Churches,  consecration  of,  72 
,,         desecration  of,  17,  86, 

87,  243,  244 
„         restoration  of,  71 
Church    Quarterly    Review,    74, 

163,  166 
Clotworthy,  238 
Cobbett,  212 
Colet,  10 
Cooper,  187 
Cope,  88,  121 
Cork,  Earl  of,  199 
Cosin,  115,  116,  120 
Court  of  High  Commission,  79, 

80,  82,  98  ff.,  121 
Cox,  28 

Cranmer,  10  ff.,  102,  103,  232 
Crofts,  170 
Cromwell,  11 
Cross,  sign  of,  122 

JOictionanj  of  Nat.  Biog.,  85, 134, 

151 
Dixon,  16,  17,  19,  103,  192 
Dort,  Synod  of,  56 
Dowdal,  193 
IJowsing,  243 
Dubois,  159 
Du  Pin,  159 

Edward  VI.,  14,  15,  18,  27 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  20  fl". 
Episcopacy,  23,  107  ff. 
Erasmus,  5 
Essex,  Lady,  39,  52 
Eucharist,  tiie,  6,    13,  56,    103, 
llOff.,   117,  121,  122,  127,  201 
Evelyn,  116 


Fasting,  116,  117 

Femall  Glory,  the,  114 

Ferrar,  119,  139 

Fisher,  110,  144,  160,  164 

Florio,  17 

Forbes,  Bp.  W.,   Ill,   115,  120, 

185 
Francis  of  Assisi,  St. ,  8 

Gaiedner,  18,  19 
Gardiner,  Bp.,  10,  104 
Dr.,  79,  134 
Gladstone,  166 
Gore,  159 
Grindal,  28 

Habernfeld,  206,  225 

Hales,  165 

Hall,  Bp.,  114 

Hammond,  120 

Hampton  Court  Conference,  23, 

24,  30 
Havward,  127 
Henry  VIII. ,  14 
Herbert,  G.,  119,  139 
Heyliu,  25,  26,  29,  31,  39,  40,  46, 

52,  53,  55,  58,  61,  68,  76,  81,  87, 

89,  90,  97,  104,  114,  118,  136, 

153,   166,  182,   183,  190,  215, 

217,  239,  240 
Hiericryia  Anglicana,  122,  123 
Holgate,  16 

Hooker,  23,  28,  101,  108,  120,  248 
Hooper,  16 
Howard,  79 
Hubbard,  94 
Hutton,  32,  35,   60,  79,  80,  95, 

99,   160,    161,    165,   167,   180, 

246 
Hyde,  134 

Ignatius,  St.,  110 
Incense,  121 
Indulgences,  5 
Irish  Church,  192  ff. 

.1amesI.,2.3,  44,  45,  57,  81,  93 
Jesuits,  the,  66,  147,  153 
John  Intjleaant,  119 


INDEX 


253 


Jones,  Inigo,  71 
Jones,  John,  32 
Juxon,  113,  125,  156,  241 

Keble,  John,  58 
Kitchin,  16 
Knight,  50 
Knox,  180 

Lamb,  86 

Lambeth,  2G,  212  ff. 
Laski,  John,  12 
Latimer,  10,  11,  15,  16 
La0d,  William — 
birth,  25 
parentage,  25 
false  step,  38,  39 
character,  135,  228 
as  parish  priest,  41 
as  bishop,  46  ff. 
bishop  of  St.  Davids,  46  ff. 
,,      ,,  Bath   and    Wells, 

61 
,,      ,,  London,  63,  95 
archbishop    of   Canterbury, 

74  ff. 
at  St.  John's  College,  31  ff., 

42 
at  Gloucester,  43 
chancellor  of  Oxford,  168  ff. 

,,  ,,  Dublin,  175 

and  the  Irish  Church,  192  ff. 
and   the    Scottish    Church, 

178  ff. 
home  life,  130  ff. 
ill  health,  130 
imprisonment  of,  217  ff. 
kindness  to  servants,  133 
misrepresented,     163,    208, 

212 
munificence  of,  175  ff. 
portraits  of,  129,  130 
tolerance  of,  165 
trial  of,  215  ff.,  226  ff. 
and  learning,  162  ff. 
and  recreation,  136 
Devotions  of,  137. 
opposition  to  Calvinism,  105 
and  the  Reformation,  1  ff., 
24 


Laud,  William — 

and  Reunion,  142  ff. 

his  refornuition,  lOl  ff. 

"Cardinal's"  liat,  146 

ceremonial         reformation, 
121  ff. 

moral     reformation,   78  ff. , 
121 

Mctropol.   visitation,  85  ff. , 
120 

Bentonoed  to  death,  230,  231 

his  death,  2.34  ff. 

his  last  speech,  236  ff. 

his  burial,  240 

his  will,  241 
Leach,  18 
Leander,  32,  150 
Le  Bas,  34,  42,  47,  61,  66,  217, 

223,  224,  231 
Lecturers,  the,  67  ff.,  81 
Leicester,  Earl  of,  29. 
Leighton,  69,  70 
Liddon,  2,  142 
Little  (lidding,  119 
Loftie,  72 
Loyola,  106 
Luckock,  17,  185,  191 
Lutheranism,  11  ff.,  105 

Macaulay,  163  ff. 
Maccoll,  65,  115,  150,  166 
Mainwaring,  62 
Mant,  196,  197 
Marriage  seasons,  201 
Martyr,  Peter,  12,  17 
Mary,  B.V.M.,  113,  114 
Mary  I.,  19,  27,  28 
Maxwell,  Bp.,  186,  187 
James,  212  ff. 
May,  Mrs.,  35 
Melville,  180 
Mixed  chalice,  121 
Montague,  Bp.,  59,  61,  63,  77, 
113,115,149,  154  ff. 
Montaigne,  62 
Mountjoy,  38 
Mozley,  37,  126,  130,  247 

Neale,  J.  M.,  126,  235,  239 
Neile,  40,  242 


254 


INDEX 


Newman,  J.  H.,  155 
No}-e,  69,  135 

OCHINO,   17 

Oley,  242 

Organs,  20 

Overall,  23,  110,  120,  127,  248 

Oxenham,  151 

Oxford,  29  ff.,  94,  113, 123,  168  flf. 

Paget,  29 

Panzani,  145,  151  flf. 
Parker,  21,  22 
Parliament,  the  Long,  210 
the  Short,  205 
Pearson,  120 
Pembroke,  Earl  of,  224 
Pennell,  134 
Peters,  224 
Pococke,  222 
Poynet,  16,  194 
Presbyterianism,  23,  180  ff. 
"Protestant,"  104 
Protestants,  foreign,  91,  108 
Prynne,  95  ff.,  135,  220,  224  ff. 
Pullan,  18 
Purbeck,  Lady,  79 
Puritans,  22,  29,  45 

Rawlinson,  42 

Reading,  25  ff. 

Reformation,  the,  1  ff. 

Reunion  of  Church,  142  ff. 

Reynolds,  30 

Rich,  Lord,  38 

Ridley,  10,  11,  16,86 

Roman  See,  the,  3,  10,  20,  102, 

150  ff. 
Rood-screen,  123 
Row,  184 

Sancta  Clara,  154  ff. 

Sanderson,  120 

Sandys,  28 

Schism    between    E.    and    VV., 

102 
Scotland,  44 
Scottish  Churcli,  178  ff. 
Sherfield,  70 


Sibthorpe,  62 

Sixtus  v.,  Pope,  26 

Smart,  P.,  122,  226 

Smith,  Miles,  44 

Solifidianism,  117 

Somerset,  Earl  of,  18 

Sparrow,  Bp.,  120 

Spottiswoode,  125,  185 

St.  Catherine  Cree,  72 

St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  198 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  71 

Stafford,  A.,  114 

Star  Chamber,  70,  95,  114,  134, 

135 
Stephen,  190 
Sterne,  233 
Strafford,  57,  80, 133, 136, 196  ff., 

211,  218,  219 
Sunday  observance,  81  ff. 
Surplice,  30,  55,  121 

Taylor,  Bp.  J.,  Ill,  120,  127, 

166 
Thorndike,  120,  127 
Torless,  133 
Traheron,  16 
Trent,  council  of,  8 
Twells,  223 

Universities,  the,  17,  27 
Urban  VIII.,  150 
Ussher,  195,  200 

Vandyke,  130 
Vestments,  121 
Vossius,  80 
Voysey,  16 

Wafer-bread,  55,  121 
Wake,  Abp.,  159 
Wakeman,  18,  62,  165 
Walcot,  244 
Walker,  243 
Walton,  119 
Webb,  Sir  W.,  25 
Wedderburn,  187 
Wharton,  245 
White,  Dr.,  44 


INDEX  255 

White,  Sir  T.,  28,  32  Wren,  Bp.,  55,  62 

Whitgift,  22 

Williams,  48,  51  ff.,  89,  90,  104,  Young,  53 

135,  217  ff. 

Windebank,  153,  154,  222  Zouch,  Lord,  47 

Wolsey,  10  Zwinglianism,  11,  13,  105,  106 


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